The New Kid On The Block
by CosmicSausage
Summary: Dave had a troubled past, one he wanted to forget. So he moved, ready for a fresh start. Karkat was just a sexually-frustrated eighteen-year-old who wanted a relationship and someone to trust. DaveKat Humanstuck.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: This is my first fanfiction, so if it's really crap, I am extremely sorry. ; - ;  
But hopefully you'll enjoy it!  
**

It was a cold, grey afternoon. One of those ones where you just want to stay indoors all day and do nothing. That's what I felt like doing right now. Everything around me was calm, but I wasn't. Had this decision been a mistake? Welp, it was too late to go back now, all the plans were ready, and I had already paid the deposit for renting my new apartment. My DJing job had kept me well supported, so I didn't have to borrow anything off Dir- nevermind. I had already sworn to myself that I wouldn't say his name. It wasn't that I hated him, but I couldn't yet conjure up the courage to face him.  
Not yet.

And that was why I was moving.  
This would be the last day I'd see my old apartment. Now, looking at it, it was a dump. Boxes everywhere, piled up high, wires strewn all over the floor, the red paint on the wall was chipped from the many sword fights I had had, and the carpet was faded and littered with stains.  
I sighed, running a hand through my blond hair. There were too many memories here. I was starting to feel slightly nauseous.  
I squared my shoulders, it was time to get to work. Rolling up the sleeves of my red and white shirt, I started moving the piles of boxes down the many flights of steps. The moving van would be here soon.

"Be carefull with that, man. In there is some expensive shit." I said, pointing at the box in one of the men's arms which contained my decks.

I had just locked up the house, leaving the keys for the estate agent who was going to come and pick them up in a little while.  
So that was basically it, I was moving. I had a whole life ahead of me, full of new people to meet, relationships to make, and fun to be had. But why wasn't I happy?  
Anyway, there isn't time for that now, I thought, watching the men as they moved my only possessions into their truck.  
To be honest, I hated them being anywhere near my stuff. They were pretty disgusting, to me. Typical builder types, with large beer bellies that they didn't even try to hide. It repulsed me, the way some people just couldn't be bothered to take care of their bodies.  
I looked down at my lanky build. It wasn't great, but it was better than those idiots.  
"Alright, that's everything. You ready to go?" One of the men shouted over at me, bringing me back to the present.

"Yeah, let's go." I mumbled, checking I had my phone, wallet and iPod before striding over to the van and jumping in.

It was going to be a long journey, to say the least. Good thing I had loaded my iPod with Skrillex.

It seemed that as soon as we entered town - my new home - everything brightened up. The clouds cleared, revealing a bright blue sky and a shining sun, and suddenly I was sweating in my black jeans and hoodie.  
I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the sun. From behind my shades, I saw what looked like a whole different world. The town wasn't covered completely in concrete, and I could actually see grass. A lot of it. Well, this was a change. And quite a nice one, at that.  
As we made our way towards my new apartment, I kept my eyes fixated on what was whooshing passed outside the window.  
To me, it looked like a nice modern town with a lot of parks and trees. Very different to my old home.  
But I liked it, which was the biggest surprise of all.

"Here we are." One of the men said gruffly, as if he had had just about enough of me. That would be acceptable, since I had been blasting three and a half hours worth of hardcore dance music at a high volume. My headphones obviously weren't very sound proof.  
I allowed myself one small, smug smile, and then opened the door and swung myself down.  
In front of me, was a smart-looking block of flats. I stretched my arms, before pulling a piece of paper out of my pocket. According to this, I was on the second floor. I nodded to myself, that wasn't so bad. There seemed to only be four floors anyway. Pfft, I was used to twelve floors. This was nothing.  
Now I had to unpack, which was going to be a bore.  
But after that, I could explore.  
I grinned, not knowing why I had ever been scared of moving.  
I was Dave Strider, and this was the first day of my new life.

Unpacking had taken forever, but now it was finally over.  
I slumped down on my trusty old red sofa and admired my handiwork.  
It was a nice apartment, which had taken me by surprise, seeing as how cheap it had been. There was a lot of space and light, which was another difference to my old place. It was actually a really nice apartment. A nice place to call my new home.  
I stood up, dabbing my face with my hoodie before throwing it aside. There were so many windows. I could see the whole town from here. There was what looked like a school, a church, offices, cafes, plazas, a swimming pool, buses, cars, grass and... people. So many people.  
I smiled, pressing my hand against the glass. I had made the right decision, and I hadn't thought of him for at least an hour. It was progress, at least.  
I padded over to the fridge, hoping for some food. I knew there was nothing in there, but I was still going to check.  
Nope, nothing at all. And my stomach was starting to making distressed noises.  
Well, I would have to go and get some food. It was also an excuse for me to start my exploring.  
I grabbed my coat, pushed my shades further up my nose, and was out of the door.

It had taken twenty minutes of wandering aimlessly around town, but eventually I had found a supermarket.  
As I had been wandering, I had noticed something. Everyone was friendly. Maybe it was the beautiful weather or something, but every person you passed, flashed you a warm smile. It was crazy, but made me feel warm inside.  
Everything was so different now.  
I walked in, picking up a blue basket from the top of the stack and ventured further inside.  
I started with the basics, bread, milk, butter, eggs, apple juice - of course - and crisps. They were a basic, to me.  
I was checking out the cereal when I heard a high-pitched voice a few meters away.

"Can you show me where the red things are please, Mister Shop Attendant?" It was a girl, and she wasn't talking to me, which was obvious. Akin to me, it seemed she liked red.

Something about her made me want to keep looking, so I turned around, and pretended to be examining the chocolate spread.  
She was stick thin, without an ounce of fat on her. A mane of bright reddish-orange hair fell around her face and ended just above her shoulders. Her skin was rather pale, but not completely white like mine, and covering her eye was a pair of pointed red glasses. Her clothes were pretty basic. Just black jeans, and a teal-coloured top. Nothing out of the ordinary. In her hands was a white cane, which she was pointing at the man in front of her, who looked rather taken aback.  
And then I got it, she was blind

"Uh, madam, we don't really have a certain place in which we put our red items." He replied, glancing at the girl nervously.

The redhead put one of her hands on her hip, and waved the cane at the shop attendant.

"That is disgraceful!" She gasped, before turning on her heel and strutting out of the shop. The funny thing was, she didn't use her cane at all. It was as if she could see just fine.  
I shrugged to myself and went back to staring vacantly at the shelves, maybe it was a new fashion. Those glasses had been pretty badass, after all. I smiled, she seemed like a cool person. I would probably never see her again, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate in saying hello.  
The shop attendant eventually drifted away, looking rather shocked.  
I smirked, and walked off towards the cash desk.

As I neared the block of flats, I saw a strange guy lingering outside the main door. He looked pretty shady, if you asked me. I placed one of the bags on the floor and fished my key out of my pocket. I could probably get past without any trouble.  
When I got to the door, the tall man turned around and the corners of his lips turned up slightly. It could have been a smile, if his facial expression didn't look so sarcastic. The smile was more like a sneer of sorts.

"Sup," I gave a nod, studying him from behind my black aviators. He also wore glasses, fashion glasses. Either that, or he was trying to hide his eyes. Much like how I did. They were blue and red, slightly rounded. A strange choice, to me. He had pretty much the same build as myself, lanky and tall, but I was at least two inches shorter than him. His honey-brown hair was slightly spiked up at the sides, which seemed to be natural. I couldn't picture this guy taking hours to gel his hair up like that. He wore a black tee with a bee on the front and some words underneath. It looked like a band logo, or something. Whatever it was, I wasn't going to ask. From a first glance, he seemed like one of those geeks who was good-looking without even trying.

"Do you know if KK's in?" He said, speaking with a slight lisp. I had no idea who this 'KK' was, either.

"Who?" I raised an eyebrow, keeping my eyes locked on him.

"Seriously?" He let out a small, barking laugh. "Everyone knows Karkat, you asshole," he continued, and I could just make out him rolling his eyes behind his glasses. So much for my theory that everyone was friendly around here.

"Well I'm not everyone." I shot back smoothly

"The shortish one who swears a lot? Messy hair? Works at the café in town? Is constantly whining about wanting a relationship?"  
I shook my head. I had only arrived here about an hour ago, how was I supposed to know everyone already?

The man stared at me for a little while, and then pointed at me.  
"Ah! You're the guy who just moved in, right? Karkat told me there was someone knew arriving soon, and you must be him." This time, he raised his hand into a half-wave.  
"I'm Sollux Captor, pleased to meet you. As you can see, I'm not great with introductions." He smirked.

I returned the smirk, giving him a quick salute. "The name's Dave. Dave Strider." I said, just for the irony of it. It seemed Sollux Captor was the first person I had met so far. He seemed okay, apart from the sarcastic, cocky attitude. But then again, I was like that too.

"Nice. So anyway, think you could let me in? Karkat's either out, ignoring me, or fast asleep with his teddy." Sollux snickered.

"Yeah, sure. I don't see why not." I replied, unlocking the main door and letting Sollux in.

"Thanks, I owe you one," he gave me a thumbs up, and then vanished up the stairs, hands deep in his pockets.  
Just as I was about to let myself into my apartment, I heard footsteps approaching, and Sollux appeared again.

"Wasn't he there?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at the other male.

"Nah, I haven't checked yet. I just wanted to catch you before you went inside."

"Oh really? What for?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"ED's throwing a party in a couple of days. He told me I was free to invite anyone I wanted, so I wondered if you wanted to come?" He asked in his husky, lisping voice. I was shocked.

"Who's ED?"

"A sassy gay fish." He deadpanned me, and then burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh God, should've seen your face. Absolutely priceless!" He slapped me on that back, quite hard.

"Woah man, calm down. It's not that funny." I looked at him, slightly annoyed.  
Sollux took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. For a moment, I got a glimpse of two mismatched blue and reddish-brown eyes. How unusual.

"Sorry Dave, but that was hilarious."

"So I'm going to just assume ED isn't a sassy gay fish." I said, my voice void of emotion as usual.

"Well, let's just say, he is extremely sassy, and if you looked up the definition of homosexual in the dictionary, you would find Eridan Ampora." Sollux laughed again, obviously amused by his own joke.

"A party at a stranger's house, eh? Count me in." I smirked, giving Sollux a short nod.  
He grinned in return.

"Think of it as a welcome!" The brunette turned away, still grinning slightly. "I'll see you on Saturday." And then he was gone.

As soon as I was inside, I packed all the food away, and then made myself some grilled cheese. By the time that was all finished, the sky was already darkening. I blinked, and placed my shades down on the counter. My first day was basically over.  
And wow, it had been an interesting first day, that was for sure.  
Thoughts of Sollux, Eridan Ampora - who ever the hell he was - and the girl with the red hair danced around in my mind. I was looking forward to Saturday, that was for sure.  
I think I'm going to like it here. I sighed happily as I sank down on the sofa and flicked on the TV in front of me. Ah perfect, more news about starving babies. How fucking lovely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: The chapters are short so far, but they will be getting longer! This is going to be a multi-chaptered fanfic hopefully, so yeah! If there are any spelling mistakes, sorry about that. OnO**

**Reviews are also _really_ appreciated! Thank you so much!  
Anyway, on with chapter two, enjoy! **

I awoke to bright sunlight streaming in through the open curtains. The alarm on my phone was beeping loudly, meaning it was about eight in the morning. So much for my sleep-in.

"Shut the fuck up..." I mumbled sleepily, fumbling for my phone, knocking it off the bedside table, groaning and then realising it would be easier to just get out of bed.

I threw the covers back, revealing my pale, freckled body in all it's glory. No, I didn't sleep naked, that wouldn't be cool at all. But, in just my boxers, most of my body was on show. I sighed, if people really were attracted to muscles, I was shit out of luck.  
I slipped out of bed, grabbing a hoodie that lay strewn on the ground and put it on.  
It was yet another beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly, the birds were chirping happily, and it seemed all too good to be true. It was like something out of a little kid's book.  
Surely all the people here weren't as perfect as they seemed. If they were, I was completely out-of-place here.  
I went straight for the bathroom, shaking my head to rid my mind of those painful memories. What good would it do to dwell on them? But was it any better to run? At some point, I knew I would have to face up to everything.  
Or would I?  
The reason I went to the bathroom first was because - even though I was the only person here - I hated to think of myself looking like a wreck. So therefore, I went to the mirror and fixed my hair before I did anything else in the morning. The rest of the day was fine, I just had to do it first thing. Purely out of habit.  
I grabbed my comb off the table and started to sweep my hair to the side.  
There we go, perfect. I though to myself, smiling. I guess it wouldn't be a shock if people thought I was gay.  
No, what am I saying...  
Pushing these thoughts aside, I made my way to the kitchen and turned on the kettle. I needed some coffee. Badly.  
I wonder if Sollux found that Karkat dude? I found myself thinking, as I spooned a little sugar into a mug.  
It would be nice to make new friends, I've never had very many. But maybe this place would change that. Who knows?  
And then my phone vibrated, and I jumped out of my skin. Nobody knew my new number, did they? How could anyone be calling? Who was it?  
I let the phone ring a little longer, and then curiosity got the better of me and I pressed 'answer'.

"Hello, brother." Came the voice from the other end of the line. I froze.

"What do you want, Lalonde?" I managed out. What did she want? I wracked my brains, but no. I couldn't come to a logical conclusion.

"Oh, you are mean to me, Dave. Maybe I just want a conversation with my beloved sibling, would that be such a crime?" She replied, quick and smooth. I groaned, audibly.

"But you don't. I know you well enough for that, Rose." Sighing, I realised maybe a chat with my sister wouldn't be so bad. I had no reason to be so defensive.

"That is true, dear brother." Rose said, and I could hear the smirk in her voice.

"So, go on then."

"I hear you have moved. That is a shame. Now I can't visit you or our charming older brother anymore." She faked a sigh. She was trying to get me worked up.

"Don't fucking talk about him." I ground my teeth, anger welling up inside my stomach.

"Ah, I understand now. It happened, didn't it? So you left." There was a faint drop of sympathy in her voice. I hadn't thought she was capable of that emotion.

"Shut up," I growled down the line. I was rising to the bait, but I didn't care, Rose wouldn't get anything out of me, anyway. I bet she even knew all the details already. "How did you get my number?"

"I have my ways, Dave. You, of all people, should know that." She laughed softly.

"Anyway, I did not come here to talk about such petty things as why you suddenly decided to move away. I actually do have something of importance to tell you." She continued. I waited.  
"Kanaya has a good friend who lives over there, where you are currently. When I told her that you had moved there, she thought it would be a lovely idea to take a visit. That way, I could see my brother, and she could see her friend. I think it would be a splendid idea, don't you? It wouldn't be for long, but Dave, I do miss you, you know."

Was she being serious? For a start, when had her and Kanaya become so close? And secondly, did she actually mean what she had said? About missing me? I shook my head in disbelief, but she had sounded so sincere.

"Sure," I replied, giving a quiet cough.

"That's it? Really?" If we were talking face to face, she would have raised her eyebrows about now.

I grunted, it was my way of saying "yes".  
"Alright then, I shall keep in contact with you. Goodbye, Dave." And with that, she hung up.  
I sat there for a moment, rubbing my eyes. That had been a shock. How had she even known where I had moved to? Sometimes that woman was truly scary. Sighing, I decided to let it go. Today, I had decided to explore a little more, and I wasn't going to let a little phone call get in the way.

Today was the start of the second day in my new home. It was strange how positive I was feeling. It was very un Strider-like of me.  
I stood up, stretched out my arms which were aching from those bags I had carried the previous day, and then walked off to the bathroom.  
I stripped, and then stepped under the shower.

"Shit fucking bitch whore fag-" I let out a scream - and a very manly one, at that - when the water ran freezing down my back.  
Running out of the cubicle again, I shivered for a moment or two before entering again and adjusting the water until it was just right. With that mini-disaster over, I could relax under the warm water.  
It was so peaceful in there, with the sound of dripping water in my ears, and the simple smell of fresh, clean water.  
It was lovely.  
I grinned to myself, and lathered my hair with shampoo. Then after that, conditioner.  
What? A guy needed to take good care of his hair too!  
Sure, maybe I took a bit too much care of it, but my hair was awesome. It was one of the things that made me the coolkid I was. That, and just being plain cool on a twenty-four hour basis, of course.

After rinsing out my hair, I stepped out of the shower, turned the water off and wrapped a fluffy red towel around my waist. I rolled my shoulders, releasing the last of my aches and pains, and gave a little sigh. Ah, that was better. Showers always did the trick. And I still hadn't thought in-detail about him at all! I was making progress. It was slow, but it was still progress. Compared to the wreck I had been about a month ago, that was. It was better than nothing.  
I shuffled over to the counter, grabbing the cup of coffee that was now basically cold, and went to go get changed.

I picked out lots of red, as usual, but went for something a little different to my normal casual style. As it was one of those unbearably hot days, I decided on long shorts. Not those horrible cargo pants, but nice designer shorts. I smirked at myself in the mirror, posing provocatively.  
Okay I was just too gay.  
Rolling my eyes, I threw on a red short-sleeved top, and a black shirt over it. There, I was all set. I was ready to explore the rest of town now.  
Smiling to myself, I realised this was the happiest I'd been in weeks.

With my headphones stuck in my ears, and my shades in their place on the bride of my nose, I strolled through town, eager to get a better look at it.  
I had no idea where I was now, but it was about a ten minute walk from my apartment. It was a pretty place, nice for hanging out with friends, or eating lunch or something. There was a large fountain in the middle of the plaza, surrounded by benches and flower beds. The flowers in this town were fucking amazing. They were everywhere, in every colour imaginable. I walked around the plaza for a little while, watching as a little bunch of children played next to the fountain, dropping pennies inside the clear, blue water. I could hear their shrieks of joy, even from over here. It made me smile and want to stay, but I wanted to see the rest of my new home before the light started to fail.  
After the plaza, there was a row of shops on either side of a modern, paved street. There were no cars, just people. It was a nice atmosphere.  
And then I saw a little coffee shop, squashed between a shoe shop and a book shop. Immediately, I walked towards it, pulling my headphones out of my ears and stuffing them in my pocket, alongside my iPod. When I got closer, I saw that it was called Cherry. A strange name for a coffee shop, but I still found it appealing. I peeped in through the glass, seeing a load of people milling around, drinking coffee, eating pastries, and taking orders.  
I wanted to go in, so sure enough, I did.  
I found a small table near the back, near a window that looked out onto some more flowers, most of them a pretty shade of magenta. The air conditioning was extremely welcome, and I relaxed down in the plush chair.  
Not too long later, someone came over to order my drink.  
She was a pretty girl, with masses of honey-blond hair. On the top of it, was perched a pink headband. Her eyes were blue, and she could have been a typical dumb bimbo if I hadn't seen that inquisitive sparkle in her gaze. She had lots of colourful necklaces draped around her neck, and a pretty pink, sparkly bangle with what I supposed was the Pisces symbol on it.

"What would you like, sir?" She asked happily, pulling a notepad and pen out of her rather large cleavage. I wrenched my eyes away, back up to her face.

"Uh, just an espresso please, ma'am." I replied, my Texan drawl creeping back into my voice.

"Alright, no problem at all!" She grinned at me, and flounced away, her skirts billowing out behind her.  
I should have asked her name. I thought, watching her vanish into the kitchens. She seemed like a nice girl and-

"Fef! Can't we start again?" A loud, whining voice broke through my thoughts, leaving me slightly dazed.  
Standing in the door was what looked like a sassy hipster homosexual. Those were the only words to describe the man standing a few meters away from me.  
And he was wearing a fucking cape. I didn't know what to think anymore.

"Eridan!" Came a high-pitched, embarrassed squeak. And the girl who had taken my order was holding her face in her hands, turning bright pink.

"Fef, come on. Can't we talk? Let's just go for a walk or something." The guy in the doorway tried again, moving across the café to where 'Fef' stood. Everyone was staring at the duo. Everyone.

"Eridan, I am working." The girl hissed through her teeth, folding her arms and glaring at Eridan- hey wait a minute, was this Eridan Ampora? The sassy gay fish Sollux had mentioned? He seemed to fit into those categories pretty well, if you asked me.

"Fine." Eridan replied grudgingly, handing a piece of paper to her. "Just call me, okay?" And with that, he strutted out of the café.  
I just watched, gobsmacked. Well, he seemed to dress to impress, that was for sure.  
The waitress was still standing in front of the till, slowly turning redder and redder. After a moment or two, she squeaked, buried her face in her hands and ran off.  
I blinked, scratching the back of my head. My new home was a very interesting place.

A heard a voice drift out of the kitchen. It was quite deep, obviously male, and gruff.

"Feferi, can't you have a word with him? He's fucking scaring all the customers away with his sassy, up-tight attitude!"

"I've tried, Karkat! He just wants to start over, he keeps coming up to me. I think he's stalking me." I heard the waitress reply, sniffing slightly.

"Okay, whatever. Just try again." And then, out of the swinging doors, a boy of about eighteen appeared.  
For a start, he was really fucking cute. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he made his way towards the counter. Around his waist, he wore a little black apron with the word Cherry printed on it in bold, red letters.  
I moved my eyes further up his body, unable to tear my eyes away. It would look rude if he saw me staring, but thankfully, my trusty shades saved me from that embarrassment. I could check this guy out as much as I liked. Smirking to myself, I leaned back into my chair. The boy was wearing black skinny jeans, a basic grey shirt and black converse. I raised an eyebrow, he was the first person I had seen so far that had a rather normal sense of fashion. Around his neck, hung a pretty silver pendant. I couldn't see quite what it was but- oh no wait, fuck. Why did he have a sixty-nine on his necklace? I supressed a snigger, placing a hand over my mouth. Pfft. How strange.  
Pulling my eyes up to his face, I got a surprise. He had such pretty eyes. Deep chestnut-brown, with flecks of red. I could stare at him for hours.  
The boy walked over to a table next to mine, took their order, and then placed his hands on his hips and glared at me.

"It's nice to know I have some admirers." He snapped, and I could tell he had known I had been staring at him. Whoops.  
I felt my face warm up a little, but I kept my eyes on him. He stared right back at me through is fringe.  
His hair looked really soft. It was black, with auburn highlights. With the sun from outside shining on it, his hair looked amazing.  
Okay, I really had to stop this.

"Are you going to order anything, or just sit there like some ass-licking prick who has nothing better to do?"

"You told that waitress that Eridan was scaring off the customers, but I think you do a pretty good job yourself." I said back, accompanying it with a polite smile. "And anyway, I did order a coffee, but it hasn't arrived yet."

"Alright, I'll get you one right away, sir." I could see he was fuming, and it was extremely amusing. I watched as he shuffled back to the counter and made my coffee.

Well, this sounded really gay but, dat ass.  
The waiter leaned over to grab a bottle of milk out of the fridge, letting me gain full view of his behind.  
Dave, time to stop ogling this guy's ass. My brain told me, and I looked away swiftly, my cheeks reddening.

"Here you go," as he leaned over to place my drink on the table, I saw the name on his tag.  
Karkat Vantas, that was his name.  
"And I was meaning to ask, how do you know Eridan?"

I looked up, smirking. "I met Sollux, he was looking for you, I think. And he invited me to Eridan's party this weekend. So, if fact, I don't actually know Eridan, I only know of him."

"Oh, so you're Dave Strider!" He perked up a little when he said this, his fringe falling into his eyes yet again.

"The one and only." I grinned, giving him a nod.

"Right well, I'm Karkat. I'll see you at Eridan's party. But don't think we're friends, okay? I'm just being friendly because Sollux told me to. This is completely out of character for me." And then he whizzed away.

I smiled to myself again, I think I was going to like him. Actually, I already did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Wow, I'm sorry about the delay guys! I've been super busy. I will try and update as much as I can from now onwards. There won't be a pattern to it though, seeing as I don't know when I'll get time to write.**

**Also, notes about the actual story. I know Porrim is older in this (around 30 maybe?) and Meenah and Aranea are only slightly older than Dave, so obviously I'm not keeping to the timelines or anything at all. **  
**On the subject of ages, Dave is nineteen and a half, and Karkat just turned nineteen. **  
**Another thing; as you may have guessed, the person who Dave keeps mentioning but never names is Dirk, who, in this fanfiction, is his brother. Not his father. And what happened between the two of them, you ask? Well, wait and see! ;D**

**This is also going to be a longfic, since I keep having loads of ideas and plot twists and so on. So yeah, keep reading!**

* * *

It was my third day in my new town, and I was pretty happy about my choice to leave. There was no more worrying about _him_, or being alone in the apartment all day. This was so much better, and I was the happiest I'd been in what seemed like years.

It was another bright morning, the light flooding through my spacey flat, bouncing off the white-washed walls. I stretched my arms up above my head and wandered towards the kitchen, it was time for breakfast.  
I didn't notice it for a little while, but there were the hints of a smile dancing on my lips when I let my mind drift back towards the disheveled waiter at that cute little coffee shop. He had taken me aback, and now I couldn't stop thinking about him. Heh, how funny.  
And then the phone rang, and I knew who it was before I even answered it.

"We're coming to visit in a couple of days." Came my sister's voice down the line. I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"Already? I've only been here three days!"

"Yes, I know that, Dave. But Kanaya is eager to see her friend, and I am eager to see my brother. So we shall be coming down soon."

"And you didn't think to check it with me?" I huffed, plopping down on the sofa.

"No, I just assumed you would be okay with it." Rose replied, and if I could see her face, I just knew she'd be smirking in that evil way of hers.

I let out an annoyed growl. "Augh, okay fine. Whatever. I need to go now," I said curtly, getting ready to hang up.

"Okay then, until next time, dear brother." And she was gone, within an instant, like last time.

I sighed, leaving my phone on the sofa. I would have to prepare myself for a sisterly grilling from Rose when she arrived, but for now, I wanted to go back to that coffee shop.  
Not for any particular reason. Not to see some hot waiter. Nah, not at all. I just wanted some coffee. Yeah, that was it.  
Shuffling over to my room whilst pulling my jeans up on my hips, I grabbed a white t-shirt and pulled it on. Before I left the house, I checked my hair in the mirror, slid my shades up my nose and grabbed my large headphones and hung them around my neck. I was ready to go.  
Smirking to myself, I headed toward the plaza.

"Hello dollface, got a smoke?"

I was sitting on one of the benches that surrounded the little fountain, watching the water as the sunlight danced upon it. Really, I was just pondering whether or not to enter Cherry. I was nervous. But why? I mean, I didn't have a crush on this guy, did I?  
When someone sat down on the bench next to me, I ignored them. That was, until they spoke in a gravelly voice.  
I turned my head towards them, revealing that the person was, in fact, a female. But not a particularly feminine one, at that.

"Nah, I don't smoke. Sorry." I hadn't smoked since him and that was only because it was a habit. I had quit pretty quickly though.

"Aw man, that sucks." The girl rolled her eyes, and I raised my eyebrow at her strong accent. I couldn't quite place it though.  
Now that I looked at this girl, she sure did look rather unusual. She was wearing ripped black jeans, hefty blue Doc Martens, a tank top which revealed her large array of tattoos, and a leather jacket with lots of chains and safety pins added on to it. She was a punk, that was for sure. Her hair was slightly shaved on one side, and she had a huge, swept across fringe. And her hair was dark, very dark. It could even have been classed as black. Moreover, it looked natural.

I smirked, looking straight at her. She quirked a brow back at me, her eyes heavily made up with blue and black makeup. Now that I looked at her face, I could see many piercings. One of the left side of her lip, two on her right eyebrow, and three on her ear. The one ear that wasn't covered by the large sweep of hair, that was. Her arms were covered in tattoos. Mostly spiders and webs. Hm, interesting.

"Hey, you're pretty cute. What's your name, eh?" She grinned at me, flashing me a wink. It might have been sexy to some people but a) she wasn't my type and b) I was more than a little bit intimidated by her.

"Name's Dave Strider, I'm the new kid on the block." I replied, giving her a small salute and smirking. She did however, seem pretty badass. And I liked that.

"Hey Strider, my name's Vriska Serket, the old kid on the block." She snickered a little at her own joke, and I raised my eyebrow again.

"Pleased to meet you, Serket." I said, wondering if she too knew Sollux. It seemed like everyone knew that guy. _No harm in asking, I suppose._

"Do you know Sollux Captor?"

"Craptor? Yeah, 'course I do!" Vriska let out a short, mean laugh, tilting her head back a little. Maybe I was watching her too intently.

"You even have a nickname for him," I snorted rather unattractively, my thoughts drifting back to the small coffee shop. I had finally worked up enough courage to go in.  
Before I could bid farewell to my new acquaintance, she stood up.

"Well, I'll be off now. See you around, Strider." She drawled, walking away and giving me a short wave. Hm, people didn't hang around, did they?  
Not long afterwards, I stood up myself and headed towards the quaint little coffee shop.

"Just couldn't keep your eyes off me, could you?" A voice said from in front of where I sat, reading a magazine that I had picked off the stack in front of me. I found a table at the back, akin to last time, and settled down there. I studied the flowers out of the window for a little, before picking up a magazine and thumbing through it.  
And now, there he stood. The boy I had originally come here to see. But what I wanted to know, was how the fuck he has guessed that?  
I was stumped. Now what?  
But then I looked up at him, and I saw the teasing glint in his dark amber eyes and I let out an inward sigh of relief. He wasn't being serious, he hadn't actually figured out that I had come to watch him. I was so glad.

"No, not really." I shot back with a smirk, placing my magazine back down on the table.  
The boy rolled his eyes, pulling out a little notepad.

"Can I take your order?" He asked, voice dripping with annoyance. Pfft, wasn't he a bipolar little fellow?

"Depends on what's on the menu." I flashed him a coy smile, hoping he would pick up on the obvious innuendo.

"I should ask my boss about putting up a fucking 'don't flirt with the staff' sign, especially over by this table, you moron."  
A sudden thought popped into my head.  
His name had been Karkat, hadn't it. How could I have forgotten?

"That wouldn't stop me, Karkat." I laughed in an offhand way.

"Anyway, what brings you to our humble little café, sir? Or was it Dave? Your name seems to have slipped my mind, I do apologise." The teen placed a finger on his cheek in an exaggerated, sarcastic manner, and I chuckled. He was truly amusing to watch.

"Yeah, Dave Strider." I replied, introducing myself for the second time today. Or was it the third? I had no idea.

"Well, Dave Strider, are you going to answer my question?" He placed a hand on his hip, and I couldn't help but think how sassy he looked. Damn, this was moving fast. I already had that longing feeling just below my naval. As I had with him, at first. But not anymore. Oh shit, now I was thinking about my past. No, this wasn't the time. I had moved to get away from all that, and I wasn't going to let it follow me. Not this time.

"All in good time-" but I was broken off by a smooth-as-honey voice coming from behind Karkat.  
Holy shit, who was she?  
I thought I had started to embrace my homosexuality, but this girl was so hot.  
"Is everything okay, Vantas? I do hope so, because we do not have time for idle chit-chat, even if some of the customers are your friends. You are working, Karkat. I just thought I should remind you." Her voice was cold and smooth, and I was still in too much of a daze to register what was going on.  
Karkat looked over at me and immediately read the emotions that were clear on my face. He rolled his eyes. This obviously happened a lot.  
"I'm sorry, Maryam. I was just trying to get his order. I hardly know him, but he's acting like we're old friends. I'll get back to work straight away." He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.  
The woman looked down at where I sat, and I instantly snapped out of my trance. Okay, so there was no point having a crush on her, because she was obviously out of my league. And way older than me. She was thirty, at the oldest. Or she just looked really good for her age.  
Her arms and chest were covered in winding black tattoos that peeked out of her green and black dress. I blinked, staring at her through my shades, glad for once that I had them on. My eyes glided up towards her face, noticing a gold lip ring, and two other rings on each eyebrow. She seemed to like green, as her pale face and dark eyes were painted with makeup of said colour. Her hair fell down her back in thick, black waves.  
I shook my head and returned to the land of the living, only to see the woman gliding away.

"She's married, and her daughter used to be one of my best friends." Karkat said sternly, crossing his arms over his chest.  
I cleared my throat, flicking my fringe to the side and looking up at him.

"Don't be jealous," I said, returning to my usual, teasing ways. "I have someone else in my sights."  
Karkat huffed, but I detected a faint blush dusting those cute little cheeks of his.

"Don't try it," he replied, turning away.

"Wait," I jumped up, grabbing the corner of his apron. "I'll see you tomorrow night, right?" Obviously startled by our closeness, Karkat stumbled backwards, grasping his little notepad.  
He wrinkled his nose and lifted his chin in defiance. "Yeah, but I don't know why you'd give a fuck." And then he vanished between the swinging doors of the kitchen, leaving me alone again. I breathed out, and realised I was smiling. Hah, what that boy did to me. And I had only met him yesterday!

The next day or so flew by. In the rush of excitement leading up to Ampora's party, I hadn't got much done. I didn't even know why I was so excited. This was extremely unlike the usual me, but it wasn't bad. It was just... different. This new town, and the people within it, were opening me up, and it was a nice change.  
When Saturday night came around, I picked out some of my nicest clothes - a black short-sleeved top, my favourite red hoodie with clockwork symbols on the shoulders, jeans, and my checked Vans - and lay them out on the bed. I took a shower, shaved my face, and blow dried my hair. Why I was making such an effort, I did not know. But I suppose I wanted to make a good first impression on who every was going to be there. And Karkat, of course. I wanted to impress him the most.  
As I sorted out my messy hair, I found myself thinking about Karkat again. Okay, so I was obviously developing a crush. Did that mean I was gay? Well, vaginas scared me, to say the least. And the thought of having a steady girlfriend made me more nervous than you could ever imagine.  
But guys? It just felt natural. And they didn't have vaginas, so that was all cool.  
I smirked to myself. Huh, the things I think about sometimes. All talk of female genitals aside, I was pretty sure I was bisexual, at least. I'd never even kissed a girl before, but I didn't want to rule out attraction to the opposite gender just yet.

Once my hair was fixed, I kicked my towel aside and starting getting dressed. When I had finished, I struck a pose in the mirror and grinned. There, that was better. I looked pretty fine, if I did say so myself. I walked over to the kitchen to get some juice, only to see my phone flashing. I had a text.

**the party ha2 2tarted! where are you, a22hole?**

Who the fuck was this, and why were they random 2s where the 's' should be? And how did this person get my number? I frowned, looking down at it. It must be either Karkat and Sollux, or a text sent to me by accident. Still, how did they get my number?  
Thoroughly confused, I pocketed my phone and chugged back the glass of apple juice in my hand. Swiping the back of my hand over my mouth, I picked up my glasses. Before putting them on, I looked in the mirror. They were red, so red. And they always had been, according to him. I don't know why I wore glasses. They were a safety thing for me, just like little kids had a blanket or a stuffed toy. If I didn't have them, I felt exposed. And that was something I didn't like. They were a shield.  
Pushing all of this, I pushed them up my nose, and the world became a little darker.  
I zipped up my hoodie halfway, so it just showed the faded band logo on my t-shirt, and then unlocked the door and ventured out into the darkening Summer night.

After leaving Cherry, a couple of days ago, I had walked around town a little, realising I still didn't know where Ampora's house was. By chance, I had seen a rather flustered Eridan waving at a black car, as it drove away from the large, white and brown house that he was standing on the porch of. I caught him flash an evil grin at the back of the car, and walk back inside.  
And that was how I had found the destination of the party.  
Now, I was standing at the door of that same house, about to knock. From inside, I could hear loud music and people's raised voices talking above it.  
I gave two sharp knocks on the large brown door, and immediately it was opened.  
I did not know the girl in front of me, but she didn't look very much older than me. Her skin was brown, and her she had short black hair, with two thin braids that almost reached the floor, coming from the back of her head. She was wearing black cargo shorts and a short, dark pink baggy top with a black shirt underneath it. On her wrists, she wore two large gold bangles, adorned with tiny jewels. She was holding a can of beer up over her head, as she looked at me through unusual pink glasses.

"'Ey, I've never met you, an' this is - hic - crazy, but here's my-" She slurred, only to be pushed aside by a more sober-looking girl in a blue dress.

"Meenah, I think you've had enough of this." She frowned, grabbing the can of beer from the girl, and looking over at me. "I'm sorry about her, she-"

"Aranea, I love you so much!" The girl in pink declared, grabbing the other girl and rubbing her cheeks against Aranea's. In reply, Aranea looked over at me apologetically.

I blinked, nodding towards the girl in the blue dress, and shifting past them, into the hallway, where lots of other drunken teenagers were talking in groups. Judging by the noise, most of the people were in the room to my left.  
Squeezing past a couple making out, I entered the spacious room. Immediately, I spotted Karkat, sitting alone on a sofa, wearing a blazer which was rolled up at the sleeves.  
I never thought I would say this, but he looked extremely sexy, with his face slightly flushed from the alcohol he had been drinking, and his slightly messy hair.  
That was it, I was done for.  
I sauntered over to where he sat, hoping to be as illusive and possible. To my disappointment, he spotted me before I could jump out and scare him.

"Dave, you made it." He said in a rather monotone voice.

"'Couldn't pass off an opportunity to see you again, could I?" I was being daring, but it was worth it to see Karkat's face. For a moment, it seemed he was completely stumped. Then he turned pink, and then he frowned and crossed his arms.

"Usually I'd have a whole, long-winded retort to that, but this time I don't," he said, looking slightly annoyed. "Douchebag."  
He sure did have a foul mouth, but that didn't matter. So did I.  
Instead of replying, I went to sit down next to him.  
Karkat looked over to me and opened his mouth, about to say something. But, he was, and quite rudely, if I might add, interupted by the lisping voice of Sollux.

"You guys sure seem to be getting cosy over there. Glad you could make it, dude. Did you get my text?" He smirked, revealing two pointed teeth that looked rather menacing.

"Yeah, I did. How did you get my number?" I asked.

"My hacking skills know no limits!" He said proudly, handing me a can of beer.  
I laughed, leaning back into the plumpness of the couch and opening the can with a 'ptssh'.

"Hey douchecanoe, what are you doing here? And we are not 'getting cosy', thank you very much!" Karkat butted in, glaring at Sollux angrily.  
The taller boy rolled his eyes.

"Wow KK, you really can't take a joke, can you?" He sighed, looking over at me. "And anyway, you always complain about wanting a relationship. Do you remember last year, at ED's Christmas party, when you tried to get off with-" Karkat shot to his feet, and clamped his hand over Sollux's mouth. It was all very cliché, but I laughed anyway.

"Anyway Strider, what brings you to our boring little town?" Karkat said, delivering a swift subject change, in an all very overly enthusiastic manner.

"Just needed a change, no biggie." I replied smoothly, lying through my teeth. But they didn't need to know that.

"Heh, I'll see you two love birds later," Sollux piped up, having freed himself from the other boy's grasp. Karkat didn't hesitate to flip him off. "Oh, and don't forget. We're playing spin the bottle later. You should totally join in." He grinned, and then walked off towards a tall boy in a purple beanie.

"Holy mother of Jesus, that guy is so fucking annoying. Why am I friends with him? Why am I friends with any of these people?" Karkat muttered darkly, making a large hand gesture to indicate everyone in the room around us.

"Spin the bottle, huh?" I said, changing the subject again. "I haven't played that since I was fourteen."

"Me neither, and I plan to keep it that way. Spin the bottle memories still haunt my dreams." He mock-shivered, making me laugh loudly.  
At this, the boy seemed to brighten up a little. He smiled shyly, looking over at me sideways. It was as if something had shifted.  
But soon, he was back to his grumpy self.

A little later on, and the party was in full swing. There were people all over the place. This Ampora dude sure had contacts.  
Every now and then, I would catch a glimpse of someone I had seen before. That punky girl from the fountain, the blind girl in red that I saw in the supermarket with her cane, and Ampora himself.  
In just this amount of time, I had met so many people.  
I, however, was still sitting with Karkat. Surprisingly, it wasn't at all awkward. It was fun, and the conversation was smooth and easy. The night was ticking by, and before we knew it, we were tipsy and somehow roped into a game of spin the bottle.

The game started up, and there were people kissing all over the place. At one point, Sollux got really into a kiss with the blonde girl from the café, until Eridan got so pissed off and wrenched them apart.  
And then, the bottle pointed at me. Karkat laughed meanly, Sollux raised his eyebrows, and the girl in red - who had somehow known it had landed on me - cackled.  
I swallowed, hoping, at least, it wouldn't be a complete stranger.  
"I'm betting on Karkat!" Sollux laughed when he reached to spin the empty soda bottle again.

And sure enough, it landed on the dark auburn-haired boy sitting beside me.  
Shit, I had to kiss Karkat.

* * *

**Note: A cliffie, I do apologise everyone! **  
**Review and I'll update faster!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: Here's your update~!**

**Also, reviews mean a lot to me! So please, please take a little time to write one! Thank you. :D**  
**P.S. If you're American, ignore the British spellings of words. And if you don't know, 'snog' just means make out, basically.**

* * *

Karkat visibly gulped. I could see his adams' apple bob up and down. Now who was laughing? Actually, that wasn't the best expression to use, seeing as I definitely was not laughing.  
I hadn't even gotten close to, let alone kissed anyone since Dirk. Oh shit, now look what I'd done. I'd said his name, exactly like I had told myself not to. And now I was thinking of my time with his. No, I wasn't going there.

"Go on then, or don't you want to?" Sollux piped up, his grin was so wide, it was almost touching his ears. I scowled. Of course I wanted to! I had a crush on him, didn't I? He was hot, wasn't he? Yes, of course he was, but I was just nervous.  
And it wasn't just that, it was also the fact that I wanted someone special in my life. I didn't just want a couple of snogs with some random people I'd only met the other day, I wanted a relationship. If I was ready for it, that was. I'd probably fuck everything up again, knowing me. Giving an inward sigh, I jolted back to the present.  
How hard could it be? I had a lot of experience in kissing.

"How long do we have to wait for Kar to kiss this the blond douchebag?" It was Eridan this time, and I rolled my eyes. Karkat let out a nervous chuckle, trying to act cool.

"If he doesn't want to, that's perfectly okay, you idiots. On second thought, I was just fucking leaving-" his voice broke off at the end, and his eyes darted around the room, desperately seeking an escape route.

"Stop stressing." I shot back smoothly, scooting nearer to him and placing one of my hands behind his neck. Wow, his hair was soft.  
Karkat jumped a little at the contact, the blind girl gave another wicked cackle, and I heard a fangirl squeal from somewhere else in the circle.  
Oh well, I've got nothing to lose.  
And then I pulled him closer, and swiftly connected the two of our lips. Suddenly, everything else in the room was blocked out. It was just me and Karkat. Everything just seemed to fit, and soon enough, his arms had found their way around my neck, and my fingers were tangled in his soft, soft hair. His hair wasn't the only thing that was soft, so were his lips. Feeling him so close to me was absolutely perfect. I hadn't known how much I'd wanted this.  
A small moan passed the other boy's lips when he opened his mouth, letting my tounge gain entrance. It was then when a loud voice brought us out of our trance, and we jumped apart.

"Get a room!" It was the girl with the piercings from the fountain, Vriska, was it? Today she was clad completely in black, mostly leather, and she was laughing as she held my gaze.

"FF, you okay?" Sollux asked the blond girl sitting next to him, who was now rather flushed, and fanning her face with her hand.

"Yes, I'm fine! Just fine! Perfect in fact! Don't worry about me, haha." She laughed, being overly enthusiastic to cover up her embarrassment.  
Still, as the game continued, I didn't look over at Karkat. Not once.

The party rolled on, and I realised - in my drunken stupor - that I hadn't seen Karkat for what seemed like hours. Where was he? I blinked, trying to stop myself falling over. I never usually drank this much, and it was having a huge effect on me. I was drunk off my ass, and I couldn't concentrate properly.  
Over the last couple of hours, quite a few people had come up to me, wanting some action. Of both genders. I just brushed them aside, and continued to laugh with Captor and some of his friends. I found out that the blind girl - who turned out to be a lot of fun to talk to - was called Terezi, and she refused to let blindness hold her back. And the blonde girl in the pink dress, she was called Feferi. I could tell, even without the murmurs from Terezi in my ear, that there were something going on between her, Sollux and Eridan. It was amusing to watch, not that I wanted to get involved.

Now, there weren't many people left. Most of them had drifted home, all partied-out. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get home by myself. Maybe I'd be able to crash here? I doubted it, Eridan hadn't exactly taken to me, but apparently he was always a bit of a tool. Oh well, I'd have to see.  
I sat down on the same sofa I started talking to Karkat on, in the earlier hours of the evening. I stared at the ceiling, trying to get a grip on my surroundings. I only heard snippets of the conversation going on around me.

"He lives in the same block as Karkat-" Was that Sollux? I had no idea.

"Take them both-" An unfamiliar, low voice.

"Strider, come on, we have to-" I shook my head, muttering something about wanting to sleep. I didn't know what was going on by this point.  
After that, I remembered nothing.

Sharp, bright sunlight filtered in through my white curtains, indicating the start of a fresh new day. I rubbed my eyes, and immediately my head started to throb. Shit, that was one of the worst headaches I'd had in forever. I threw back the covers and stumbled towards the bathroom, not even noticing that I was only wearing jeans, and my glasses were nowhere to be seen. But that didn't matter right now, all that mattered was getting to the bathroom. I wasn't going to vomit, but I desperately needed to freshen up, drink some water, and take a shit load of painkillers.  
I splashed my face with cold water from the sink, waking me up a little bit more. Rummaging around in the small cabinet to my right, I found some aspirin, and swallowed them dry. Already, my head started to throb a little less. I never used to get hangovers this badly.  
The word 'hangover' immediately triggered memories from last night. Not all of them, but most of them. I remembered getting really drunk, and not much after that. But one main memory from the night before stood out. I had kissed Karkat. No, scratch that. I had made out with Karkat, and liked it. I blinked, temporarily dumbfounded. I wracked my brains, desperately trying to remember what had happened after that.  
To my extreme annoyance, nothing resurfaced.

After I was fresh again, I wandered back to the bedroom. I wanted more sleep, so much more sleep, but I knew I had to face the day. Stretching my arms and letting out a little grunt, I started to make the bed, putting everything in- shit.

"Wassat, too bright. Mmf-" Cute sleepy noises came from a lump in the bed, and I froze. What the fuck was going on?  
I waited by the side of the bed, not knowing what else to do.

"Sollux? Gamzee? 'That you? Close the curtains, fucktard." Came another mumble, and the mound shifted slightly, turning away from the light.  
I moved stealthily over to the window, pulling the curtains closed.  
Okay, so somehow, there was a Karkat in my bed, and I had no idea why. There was a Karkat in my bed and where the fuck was my shirt and hoodie? I frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed. Where the sheets were folded down, I could see his cute little face, eyes scrunched up against the light.  
A sudden wave of emotion overcame me, and I would have squealed right then and there if I wasn't and extremely manly man (pfft, who was I kidding?).

Like a movie where the hero is trying not to wake up the beast, Karkat's dark amber eyes shot open and looked straight up at me. It took him a moment or two to register me sitting pretty close to him, watching him sleep, but that wasn't enough time for me to jump away and pretend as though nothing had happened.  
His eyes widened, and his mouth formed a small 'o' of surprise. The disheveled boy sat straight up and gasped, looking about him frantically.

"What the actual fuck?" He spluttered, pressed up against the wall at the head of my bed.  
Not giving me time to reply, he jumped out of bed. I watched, just standing there. Without my glasses on, I usually felt completely naked, but this time I couldn't care less. I had to stop him freaking out.

"Where are my jeans? Why aren't I wearing jeans? Did you lure me into your bed, is that what happened? Did we do it? What happened!" His voice raised in volume with every question, and I held my hands up in front of me defensively.

"I only just woke up, Vantas. Don't blame me. I have jack shit memory of what happened last night!" I protested, shivering as a gust of cold air entered the warm room through the window and chilled my naked, freckled chest.

Karkat blinked, taking in my words. He sank down onto the bed, still lacking jeans but not bothering to look for them anymore. He held his head in his hands, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I'm never drinking again." He muttered darkly at the floor, half to himself, half to me.

"Nothing happened, I promise you," I said again, taking a step forward. "Unless you count spin the bottle." I coughed nervously, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Shit." Ah, so he had forgotten that too.

"We can pretend it never happened, don't sweat it." I said awkwardly, scanning the room for my glasses. Seeing them on the side table, I grabbed them and put them on.

"I- I don't know, Strider. I need to go home, I feel like shit and I need to collect my thoughts." He mumbled, standing up uncertainly and not catching my now-hidden eyes.

"Here." I tossed him his black skinny jeans and he pulled them on, blushing furiously.  
After that, he hustled out of the room and out of the front door, leaving me alone.

Knock knock. Knock.

Everything in my house was shipshape again, all neat and tidy, just how I liked it. I'd cleaned myself up, too. I hadn't thought there would be anyone coming to visit me on a Sunday afternoon.

I opened the door, wondering if it was Karkat, come back for- who knows what? But no, the honey brown mop of hair belonged to none other than Sollux Captor, wearing a guilty grin and holding out my red hoodie which I had been searching for all day.

"Okay, so, I have to clear some shit up, it looks like." He pushed past me, sitting down on the couch and putting his feet up.

"Oh yeah, sure, make yourself at home." I muttered under my breath, slightly annoyed. Nonetheless, I still made him a cup of coffee.

"Sorry to burst in, but after KK left your house this morning-"

"And can I ask how you know all this?" I cut in.

"I'm getting there." Sollux continued. "Anyway, he called me up, and had a massive rant at me. It seems he can guess pretty well when his best friend dumps him in his boyfriend's house for the night."

"We're not dating." I broke in again, crossing my arms across my chest.

"It's a joke, calm down." He laughed shortly, taking a sip of the coffee. "Needs more honey."

"I don't have honey, I have sugar like normal people." At this, Sollux laughed again.

"I'm glad you still have a sense of humor, I haven't fucked up that badly, then? I just thought you guys seemed pretty into each other so why not drop you both in your bed. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have gotten GM to undress KK, but I thought he'd be uncomfortable." The boy rambled on a little, stopping to scratch his head. "Just so you know, I didn't touch your clothes. You took your hoodie off in GM's car, and when you got back here, you immediately starting undressing, but we stopped you before you treated us both to a striptease."

"Oh my god, shut up." I turned away, hiding my blush. Everyone did stupid things when they were drunk, but this was plain embarrassing.

"Anyway, I just came to apologise. I didn't think you'd mind that much, but wow, KK was so fucking mad! I'd never heard him like that before, so I thought I may as well do as he said, to avoid the dreaded wrath of KK." Sollux grunted, holding out a hand. "No hard feelings?"

I reached mine out to meet it, and shook it once. "No hard feelings, man." He seemed pleased with this, and hopped off the couch, towards the door. "I'd best be off, anyway. Got to hide before ED finds me and makes me help him clean up the house." He laughed meanly, and I rolled my eyes.  
Waving, he scooted out of the house, letting the door slam shut behind him.

Knock knock.

"I know you're in there."

Knock knock knock.

"Come on, open up."  
I stood at Karkat's front door, which I had acquired from texting Sollux, holding some brownies and a bottle of apple juice. A little while ago, I had realised how much I really did like Karkat, and I wasn't going to let him slip through my fingers. So, I went round to his place with the perfect makeup food. It would work like a charm.  
That was, if he opened the door.

"Fuck off, I'm not in the mood." Came a muffled voice from behind it. I winced at the harsh words, wondering where the quirky, if slightly moody, boy from last night had gone.

"Come on, I have chocolate." I grinned to myself, hoping it showed in my voice.  
As if that had been the magic word, the door swung open, revealing Karkat in a black tee and sweat pants. I smirked at the sight.

"Get inside." He grunted, pulling me in by the corner of my jacket.

The inside of his apartment was pretty much like mine, but a lot less spacious. There were posters everywhere, a lot of them from romcoms. I supressed a laugh, and continued to look around. There was a lot of black and purple, and some green. Not enough red for my taste, but I could live.

I turned around, about to place the brownies and juice on the counter, when I felt a warm hand on my arm.

"I'm sorry, okay? I stressed out, 'cos I'm a moody fucker with dramatic mood swings." At this, he smirked faintly.  
I put the food down, and took a step closer.  
Welp. I thought, as I wrapped my arms around his skinny form. For a moment, he stiffened, and then he started to relax, placing him own arms around my waist. I smiled into his hair, enjoying the closeness. If only everything could stay like this forever.

"We can forget all that, if you want." I said softly into his ear, squeezing him reassuringly.

Karkat pulled back, biting his lip nervously. "I don't want to."

Suddenly, I dropped the cute, soothing act and reverted to my ironic, sarcastic self.  
"Wow, all aboard the train to sap city!" I laughed. Karkat put his hands on his hips and glared at me, but he wasn't legitimately angry, only amused.

"Shut up, douchefag." He growled, punching my arm jokingly.

And that was the Sunday when I bonded with Karkat Vantas, over brownies and apple juice.  
From then onwards, we only got closer.

* * *

**Note: If I hadn't said it before, I'll say it now; wow, my characters are so OOC.**

**Review and I'll love you forever! **


	5. Chapter 5

_Note: Sorry for the delay, I've had some computer troubles and not too much time to write. I'll try and update faster from now onwards!_

* * *

"You fucking piece of shit, open the door or I'm going to kick it down."

"Open it right now, Strider you huge asshole."

I groaned. It was too early for this, way too early.  
I rolled onto my side, trying to block out the sounds of Karkat's angry raging. But no, nothing could block Vantas out, he was just to god damn loud. It was Saturday morning, and I had just been woken up at least two hours before I should have been. I had gotten a little DJing job in the local club in the week, and this was my first day off. Groaning, I flopped over so I could see the time that was flashing on my digital clock.

Shit, okay, I had been wrong about the time. It was already one o'clock. I was supposed to have met Karkat in the park at twelve.  
Now I really didn't want to get out of bed, I'd have to get up and face the raging storm that was my new friend, Vantas.  
I started a little, when that thought went through my mind. I suppose he was my friend, wasn't he? The word didn't seem to fit our relationship at all, but that was the only word there was. We were friends, but ones that argued and annoyed each other constantly.

I knew I'd have to man up eventually, so I decided to take the bull by the horns and face it straight away.  
Since that kiss at Eridan's party, some stuff had changed. For a start, we had both made some kind of silent agreement, and hadn't talked of that night. And we had also become a lot closer. I'd made better friends with people like Sollux, Eridan and Vriska too. It was nice having a normal(ish) bunch of friends for once. Also, since the party - which had been a month ago - I had hardly thought of him at all, which was refreshing.

I rolled out of bed, grabbing my shades and pulling a random top over my head. Fuck putting on jeans, Karkat was used to me by now.  
Sauntering over to the door, I attempted to sort out my hair a little. It didn't really help at all, but that didn't really matter. I was less self-conscious these days.

"Dave, you complete and utter dick. I'm still here, waiting."

I rolled my eyes at the door in front of me, before pulling it open.  
Right in front of me stood Karkat, his face only inches from mine. I smirked. He blushed furiously.

"I hate you." He grumbled, taking a step away from me and wrinkling his nose, as if the mere sigh of me disgusted him.

"Good morning to you too, you little bundle of joy." I shot back, resting casually against the doorframe.

Karkat looked me up and down, placing his hands on his hips. It was obvious that I had only just woken up, but - and the fact I was only half dressed - seemed to make him even more angry.

I grunted, looking at him through the dark lenses of my shades. "Sorry, my alarm didn't go off." I thought for a moment, before adding, "please forgive me, your highness."

For a moment, Karkat looked confused. Then he narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not angry at you about that, I'm angry because there are two women in my apartment who claim to know you. Apparently they knocked on my door, thinking it was your place. Once they found out that I knew you, they casually invited themselves in and started making tea. Fucking tea." I blinked, waiting for a moment whilst Vantas's angry rant soaked in.

Oh. Oh shit.  
Rose was here.

I almost ran - I would have, if I wasn't still trying to keep my cool - towards my bedroom to grab some jeans. I pulled them on, with slight difficulty, before reappearing by the door.

"Can you take me to them?" I ran my hand through my blond hair, distressed. Fucking Rose, and her girlfriend. She probably did in on purpose, knowing her. I bet she was fucking laughing.  
Okay, sometimes I really disliked - to say the least - my sister.

"Yeah sure, as long as you get rid of them. Next thing I know, there'll be flowers everywhere and perfume and-"

"Shut up, Vantas. Rose isn't that bad." I grunted again, stuffing my hands in my pockets. I didn't mind what she did, as long as she kept her mouth shut about what happened with me and Dirk. If she so much as said a word, I'd kick her out onto the streets.

"Rose? So that's her name? The blonde one, I'm guessing? She looks a hell of a lot like you, asswipe."

"She's my sister." I replied quietly, waiting as Karkat opened the door. Then, I realised it had been ages since I had seen Rose. Not that it mattered, but still.

"The great Dave Strider has family, what a fucking shock." He grumbled, opening the door to reveal Rose and Kanaya looking straight at us.  
I gulped.

"Lalonde, Maryam. Aren't you two looking fine." I walked towards them, keeping my face expressionless. It was a skill I had picked up along the way.

"Hello, brother. How nice it is to see you in the flesh after so long." She smiled warmly, but I could detect the vemon behind it. Hah, she wasn't going to trick me that easily.

"You too," I said smoothly, looking both of the women up and down. I had never seen Kanaya before, but even a blind person would be able to sense how alike her and Rose were. It was quite uncanny.  
In looks, however, they were completely different. Kanaya had short, black hair which spiked up a little at the back. Her skin was extremely pale, but unlike Rose, she hadn't a single freckle. She was very pretty, and I could see why her and Lalonde had picked eachother, but still, I wasn't going to be friendly just yet.

"Dave, I presume?" Kanaya shot me a black-lipsticked smile from where she was pouring tea in Karkat's small kitchen. Karkat muttered something under his breath at my side. He still hadn't said a word.

"Got it in one." I replied, letting my lips turn up into a subtle smirk.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said, and I groaned inwardly. She even spoke like Rose. These two were twins.  
Another Rose, well that was a scary thought.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't that bad, but sometimes she could be a huge pain.

"Alright then, since you two have already been introduced, care to inform me about the male to your right? You didn't tell me anything about him over phone, Dave." She smirked, staring right into my eyes, even through my shades. I flinched inwardly. Oh god.

"This is Vantas, my friend, I suppose." I shot back.

"You suppose?" Rose raised an eyebrow, and I crossed my arms.

"Yeah, what of it, Lalonde?" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kanaya laughing silently, and Karkat narrowing his eyes at the side of my head.

"Well, this is amusing." Kanaya piped up, finishing off her tea. "Now that we've finished with introductions, can we move our luggage into your apartment, Dave?"

"Sure."

No more than an hour later, and everything was unpacked. For two people, Lalonde and Maryam had brought a fuck ton of stuff. It was only for a week, too.  
After they were happy that everything was in order, they vanished off into the spare room together. I didn't want to know why.

"They're pretty fucking eccentric, if that's even the right word." Karkat grumbled beside me, flopping down on the red sofa in the middle of the room. I had forgotten he was here. "I mean, black lipstick. Come on."

I smirked, at least someone seemed to understand.  
"Trust me, there's much more to come. You weren't the one who grew up with Lalonde's freaky fetish for wizard porn or whatever."

Karkat groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Too much information, asshole." He said weakly.

I sat down on the couch next to him, stretching an arm around his shoulder. I felt him stiffen immediately.

"What are you doing, Strider?"

"Pissing you off. What else?" I laughed, raising my eyebrows. Annoying him was so easy, especially when it came to physical contact. "Anyway, weren't we going out for lunch earlier?"

Karkat grumbled something that wasn't audible, but didn't attempt to get rid of my arm around him.  
"Bit late now, you twat. It's like half two. Nobody eats lunch at half two."

"Let's be rebels. Come on, Karkat, fight the system. We can be free!" I leaned against him dramatically, pressing my hand to my face and gasping.

He growled, pushing me off.  
"Stop spouting bullshit," he muttered, pulling my arm. "Come on then, I need to get out anyway and lifting boxes makes me fucking hungry."

I laughed, and allowed myself to be pulled up.  
"Pizza?"

Karkat nodded. "Pizza."

One extra large take-away pizza later, me and Karkat were sprawled out on the grass, holding our stomachs in pain.

"I'm gonna get fat, why did you let me eat most of that fucking huge pizza?" Karkat grumbled, rolling onto his side so he could see me.

I lay on my back, hands folded behind my head, looking up at the little fluffy clouds as they drifted past. I snickered.

"Since when were you worried about getting fat? Gay."

"How does that make me gay, you douchebag? Oh my god, you are so full of shit, it's unreal." And he turned on his side again, his back facing me.

"Reasons, babe."

"Don't call me babe, you insufferable prick!" Karkat raged, kicking Dave's leg weakly.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." I laughed, and went back to looking up at the sky.  
We had such a strange relationship. I smiled, and turned on my side, so I basically had my chin resting in the nape of Karkat's neck.  
It was so tempting, but would I be pushing it? Probably.

"Wow, you know, Strider, I made a huge mistake. And that mistake was making you my friend, because-" he had started to ramble again, but was cut off by a a husky, heavily accented voice.

"Strider, Vant-ass. How's it going, ladies?" Vriska was strutting towards us, Terezi and Sollux behind her.  
Shit.

I scooted away from Karkat just in time, pushing my glasses further up my nose and sitting upright.

"Sup Serket, and you two." I saluted them, giving Karkat a poke to alert him of the other's arrival. "Sollux, what are you doing out on a Saturday. Surely you should be inside coding? It's a fucking miracle." I smirked, and Captor flipped me off, grinning to reveal his crooked teeth and braces.

Karkat groaned, rolling over onto his stomach and burying his face in the grass.

"Karkles! What are you doing?" Terezi cackled, crouching down and prodding him with her cane. Karkat swatted her away, but she merely laughed some more and tried to pull him up. I watched, smirking. Those two were hilarious when they were together.

"Aaaaaaaanyway, I have a question for you, Strider." Vriska sat down on the grass next to me, splaying out her long legs, which were today clad in ripped up tights and lots of safety pins. I admired Vriska's style, even if it was a little different to everyone else's.

"Shoot," I replied.

"I got word that a certain Maryam had returned to her hometown for a week with her girlfriend, and she's staying at your place." Vriska tilted her head to the side, raising and eyebrow. I blinked.  
Oh, so Kanaya's friend must have been Vriska. And Rose didn't say a thing about this being her hometown. Wow, what a coincidence.

I frowned, rubbing my neck. "Kanaya? Yeah, she's dating my sister. They're at mine. Only arrived this afternoon."

"Oh really now." She smirked, looking a little malicious. "Mind if I come over and visit at some point?"

"Sure, go for it." I laughed, wondering what plans she was cooking up in her head.

"Nice," she stretched her arms, licked her lips, and then got to her feet. "Come on, you two, let's leave these two lovebirds at it." I looked over at where Sollux and Terezi were annoying Karkat on the grass. Karkat was hurling verbal abuse left and right. I grinned.

"Fuck you, Serket." The grumpy boy growled, snapping his head around to glare at Vriska.  
She laughed, hard and mean.

"Sorry honey, you're not my type." This just made Karkat seethe even more.

After ten minutes or so, the trio had wandered off somewhere. By now, the sun was only a small orange dot, vanishing behind the trees and buildings in the distance. I looked over at Karkat, seeing the light from the sunset reflect against his hair, bringing out the auburn highlights. I smiled to myself, not letting him see.  
He stared down at his shoes, one hand playing with his messy hair.  
He was so fucking adorable.

I just wished I could kiss him again, but no. I'd ruin the friendship that had only just started to grow.

Two days later, and me and Karkat were back to normal. It was Tuesday afternoon, and Karkat had a week off his job in Cherry, so he was round at mine.

"Fuck you, you fucking asshole retard. Shit." He dodged a cushion a chucked at him playfully.  
He looked extremely hot today, dressed in one of my tops he had stolen, and some ripped black skinnies. I didn't even know how he had gotten hold of my white record shirt, but he seemed to be attached to it, even though it was slightly oversized. I'd never thought someone else wearing my stuff would have been so sexy. I was getting gayer every day.

"So original with your swear words, babe." I smirked, squeezing more syrup on my plate of pancakes. Kanaya - who had turned out to be an amazing cook, had made them, before she went out to town. Her and Rose were taking extremely good care of me, and Karkat was basically living in my house at the moment, just for the time. To top that all off, Rose hadn't said a word about what had happened before I moved here. We seemed to be getting along better. Kanaya was a good influence on Rose, too. If she ever went slightly too far, Kanaya would let her know. It was amusing to watch the two of them.

"Fucking asshole." Karkat muttered, digging into the pancakes, which he had layered with banana and syrup. He was such a pig.

And then, speak of the devil, Rose appeared in the doorway to her bedroom, smirking.

"You two are very funny to watch, you know." She said smoothly, sauntering over to us. Karkat looked up, I raised an eyebrow.

"Although," She continued. "I do wonder when you will stop beating around the bush and just admit to liking each other, then get rid of this terrible sexual tension. It's overwhelming."

Karkat literally spat out his half-chewed up pancake. I blinked in surprise, my mouth hanging slightly agape.  
It was Karkat who spoke first.

"What the actual fuck, Lalonde?" He gasped for breath, fork falling somewhere onto the carpet. I just watched, still shocked.

"You both know it's true." She replied, before turning the kettle on and making herself a cup of tea.

Karkat spluttered around a little bit more, a horrified look plastered across his face. He looked at me for a moment, mouth hanging open, then at Rose, then back at me.

"And don't go all quiet on me, either, boys." Rose piped up. I could hear the smile in her voice, she knew she was onto something.

"Ha ha, hilarious, Lalonde." I deadpanned her, glaring daggers through my glasses. "I'm fucking laughing."

"Don't be a sourpuss, brother. Just because I hit a nerve." She just had to keep going, didn't she. If I could facepalm, I would. Karkat already had his face buried in his hands, hiding his blush.

"Just go back to writing your smutty wizard novels, Lalonde." This drew a short, amused laugh from her.  
But, finally, she took her cup of tea and retreated back into the bedroom. Not, though, before she fired me a wry wink.  
Fucking siblings.

Evening rolled round, and Karkat was still over at my apartment. He had gone home for a little while, but returned pretty soon, ranting about being bored and having no friends.  
We were sprawled out on the couch, with blankets and cushions and hot chocolate, watching some kind of shitty documentary which he bullied me into watching. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so bad, sharing a blanket with Karkat, only a couple of inches away from him, but still, it was clearly platonic.  
Rose and Kanaya had gone out to dinner, like the dignified ladies they were, so we had some privacy.  
After Rose's earlier comment, we were left sitting together, eating pancakes with a long awkward silence. After a while though, it slipped back to normal. It always did.

And now, here we were. It took every last drop of my self-control to not lean over and kiss him, or something else. I'd been dreaming about getting a piece of that body for weeks. All of the awkward boners included. It was a hard life.  
I just didn't want to ruin our friendship. And what if he didn't like me? He was such a confusing little shit.

"Strider, stop fidgeting, you cocksucker." I froze. I had been fidgeting? Shit, I was losing my cool.

"That's ironic, coming from you." I whispered, leaning slightly closer. Just to tease him.

"Are you suggesting I suck dick, fucktard?" He growled, not noticing how close I was. His amber eyes were fixated on the screen.  
I let out a deep, throaty chuckle, and he stiffened up immediately. He was suddenly breathing hard.

"What the fuck are you-" In one swift move, I put my hands on his shoulders and maneuvered myself around so I was straddling his hips.  
I leaned closer, so our foreheads were basically touching. His eyes widened, and he started to say something, but I cut him off, placing a finger against his lips.  
"Ssh. I'm sorry, I just can't help myself anymore." The documentary abandoned, I leaned forward, feeling his warm breath on my lips.

"Wha-" And then I pressed my lips against his own soft ones. I pressed down, changing pressure and letting my eyes slip closed. A moment later, he started to kiss me back. Fuck, he was good at this. It started slow at first, us both keeping our mouths closed, soon though, it started to speed up, and I let my hands wander a little.

Karkat whimpered. He fucking whimpered. That noise sent heat straight to my groin. He turned me on so much, it was almost unreal.  
When he opened his mouth, I immediately slipped my tounge inside, and kissed him harder. The more sloppy it got, the more I began to lose control. His hands were ghosting over my back, under my shirt, my hips, my waist. Everywhere. Just those touches made my whole body warm up, and begin to tingle.  
Soon enough, my mouth trailed left his, and started to trail kisses along his jawbone. When I reached his neck, I started to lick and suck, making purple welts appear on the skin. I licked over them, smirking. One of Karkat's hands was entwined in my hair, the other resting on my waist. He was breathing heavily, eyes closed. Wow, was he sensitive or what? I breathed onto his neck, nipping and biting a little, but not enough to cause him pain.

"Fuck, Dave-" he said my name quietly, the room only lit up by the light of the TV.

"Yeah?"

"Don't stop, asshole." I grinned at this, moving back up to kiss him on the lips, my hands under his shirt, running over his chest.  
This was the happiest I had been in forever.

* * *

_Note: Aw yeah, it's heating up. _  
_Also, the next chapter will only be a pesterlog from the past, so try not to get too confused. It'll be back to hot Dave and Karkat makeouts before you know it. ;)))_


	6. Chapter 6

-  
turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

TG: rose  
TG: fuck rose talk to me woman  
TT: Are you okay, brother?  
TG: no  
TG: not at all  
TG: fuck what do i do  
TT: Dave, you will have to explain what is going on here. I'm afraid to say that I can't read your mind.  
TT: It would be rather amusing if I could, though.  
TG: jesus rose  
TG: im in a crisis this isnt time for your bullshit  
TT: I apologise.  
TT: So, what is wrong?  
TG: its dirk  
TT: What about him? I trust he is in good health?  
TG: of course hes in good fucking health  
TG: dont play dumb with me lalonde  
TG: you know whats going on  
TT: I assure you, I do not have a clue. Elaborate, please.  
TG: since you write freaky gay porn i dont think this will scar you too much  
TG: but basically  
TG: he fucked me  
TG: i fucked him  
TG: we fucked eachother  
TG: and i am in deep shit  
TT: Oh my.  
TT: Although, I can't say I didn't see this coming, Dave.  
TT: You two have always had a special relationship.  
TG: this isnt helping  
TT: I apologise, again.  
TT: So, you had sexual intercourse with your brother.  
TT: I'm going to go ahead and guess that you are 'in deep shit' because fucking ones brother isn't exactly smiled upon in society.  
TG: hit the nail right on the head there lalonde  
TG: wow you must be pshycic or something  
TG: a round of applause  
TT: Okay, Dave, no need to mock me.  
TT: I was only trying to help.  
TG: ugh ok whatever  
TT: Anyway, what does he think of this?"  
TG: how am i supposed to know  
TG: fuck fuck fuck fuck  
TG: cunt shit shit  
TG: i fucked my brother rose  
TG: your brother  
TG: my fucking sibling  
TG: this isnt right  
TG: i dont even like him  
TG: and isnt he fucking that jake dude anyway  
TT: Jake English? I presumed so.  
TG: yeah him  
TG: dirks fucking with me  
TG: jesus im in so much shit  
TT: Please try and calm down, Dave.  
TG: calm down?  
TG: you want me to CALM down?  
TT: If you want me to repeat my previous statement, I can.  
TT: Although I cannot see how that would not have made sense to you.  
TG: zip it lalonde  
TG: as i said  
TG: now isnt the time for your bullshit  
TT: So, what are you going to do?  
TG: god i dont know  
TG: get out i suppose  
TG: in case we do it again  
TG: or something  
TT: You mean to say this has happened before?  
TG: kinda  
TG: bjs and jerking each other off and stuff yeah  
TG: but not full on fucking like this time  
TG: wow i just read that over  
TG: im so fucked up  
TG: shit im gonna go now  
TG: later lalonde

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

TT: Oh dear.

* * *

_Note: Back to the main plotline now! c:_


	7. Chapter 7

We stumbled blindly towards my bedroom, tripping over various items on the floor and crashing into walls. Not that it mattered, since I couldn't feel anything other than Karkat's lips against my own, and his rough hands ghosting all over my back and my chest, his fingers tangling and pulling at my hair. I fumbled around with the door for a moment, unable to concentrate, seeing as Karkat was mouthing the shell of my ear, whilst making noises he would regret in the morning.

"Fuck-" I mumbled, pushing against the door until it gave way, and then pulling Karkat in after me.  
He kicked the door closed behind the two of us, shutting everything else out. I grinned, my eyes half-lidded behind my shades. He was gonna get it.

I backed him towards the bed, and then pushed him down onto it, so I was looming over him. He frowned, obviously not liking the lack of dominance. I snickered quietly, pushing my lips back down upon his for another heated kiss. He responded eagerly, pushing his whole body up against my own and letting his hands drift down my back.

"Wait let me take off my jeans and-" I muttered, starting to pull back. Karkat made a noise of protest, and pulled me back down.

"No fucking way, you're not going anywhere." He grumbled, grabbing my hips to keep me in place.  
Wow, he had a strong grip.

"If we keep on like this, you're gonna get jizz all over my jeans." I replied, cocking my head to the side. I could feel him let out a huff of breath against my mouth.

"I don't give a shit, Strider."

"But they're a label." I pouted jokingly, just to see him get even more flustered.

"Walmart doesn't count as a label, doucheface."

I pressed my finger to his lips and whispered soothingly, "I only have one pair of Walmart jeans, babe." Karkat narrowed his eyes at me, and I let my mouth quirk up into a cheeky smile.

"Whatever, asshole." He grumbled, pulling me back down into a kiss.

I woke up feeling sick. It was a horrible feeling, which made me bolt out of the bed and rush towards the bathroom. It wasn't that I was going to be sick, as such, there was just something in my head telling me that I had fucked up really badly again.  
I sat on the toilet, my head between my legs, willing this feeling to go away. When I started to think about last night, I realised exactly what I had done wrong.  
No, it wasn't that I had ruined our friendship, - and turned it into maybe even something more - it was that I had let him get too close.  
I didn't even want him to be involved with me. I didn't want to hurt him. And I knew I would, because I always did.  
Wow, I was fucked up.

I stood up, my legs feeling a little wobbly at this realisation, and checked myself out in the mirror.  
I looked a little pale, which made my freckles even more noticable than usual, but that didn't matter. Karkat had once said freckles were cute as fuck. Heh.  
I mussed my hair up a little, and looked myself right in the eyes. Those fucking scary red eyes. I didn't even know why I had them, nobody else in my family did. Freaky mutant gene or what?  
As I stretched my arms, I started to feel a little better. My head was clearing, and I had come up with the solution that, if I could try and resist Karkat, everything would be fine.  
However, a little voice at the back of my mind was saying bullshit, you have the worst self-control ever, and I knew it was right.

"Strider, please don't tell me you've gotten depressed and locked yourself in the bathroom because you finally realised kissing a stupid, angry teenager was the worst idea ever." Karkat's growly voice brought me back to the present, and I smirked at myself in the mirror.

"No, just checking if you did, in fact, get any of your bodily fluids on my jeans." I shouted back.

"Fuck that, we didn't even go that far!" He shouted louder, it was so easy to annoy him.

"Boys, I can here your immature squabbling from in the kitchen. Kindly refrain from telling the whole town what you two got up to last night. It is not particularly pleasant, I must say." Rose called, and I almost bashed my head against the sink.  
I had forgotten about Rose and her girlfriend. Shit, what time had they got home last night?

"Want some more details, Lalonde?" She was asking for it. Later on, I might even corner her and tell her every single detail of what we did. On the other hand, she might write some crazy crack fiction about it.  
Okay, maybe not the best idea, but still.

"I think I can manage without them, thank you very much."

I didn't properly get out of bed till after one o'clock. It was Wednesday morning, and neither me nor Karkat had anything to do, so what better than to cuddle in bed until early afternoon, sharing sloppy kisses and bad innuendos.  
And, it seemed that my plan to resist the messy-haired teen had failed. Already. It wasn't my fault, he was just too adorable (and hot) curled in my arms, with only his boxers on. How was I supposed to resist that? That wasn't a question, either.

"Pancakes." Karkat mumbled into my chest as I stared out of the window, off in another world.

"What?"

"I want pancakes. Can we get pancakes?" He said quietly. I didn't think I had ever seen him like this, quiet and subdued. It was a welcome change.

"Sure, why not." I smiled into his hair, a plan starting to form in my mind. "Only if I can dress you."

"What the fuck, Dave?" He screeched, pushing me backwards until I was on the very edge of the bed.

"Wow, way to over-react, dude. I just want you to wear some of my clothes. They suit you." I acted hurt, holding my hands up in defense.

"There's not a chance in hell that I'm wearing your fucking pretentious hipster clothes." He growled, pushing himself into a sitting position, and crossing his arms across his chest.

"I call bullshit."

"What the fuck? Why!" He glared at me, and I couldn't keep the smug smirk off my lips.

"You always steal my shirts. Don't think I don't notice some are missing, Karkitty."

"Okay, for a start, that is the worst fucking nickname I have ever heard, only someone like Nepeta would call be that, and she's allowed to because she had shitty nicknames for everyone. If you call me that again I will rip your head off and stuff it down your throat. I'll put up with 'babe', but 'Karkitty' is out of bounds.  
"Secondly, I don't 'steal' your shirts. When you come round to my place you sometimes leave them there. Like that time you took advantage of my shower, which, may I add, is so much fucking better than the piece of shit in this place. So therefore, no, you cannot dress me. I'll end up in a pair of huge clear glasses, - that have no use what so ever - a horrible beanie, and an oversized military jacket thing. You'll probably even try and make me grow some 'fashionable' stubble or something stupid and outrageous like that." Once he finally stopped talking, he was slightly out of breath. I just laughed, shortly and sarcastically.

"Nice rant. Don't think I listened to a word of it." I winked, jumping out of bed before he could maul me. "You don't get any pancakes if you don't let me dress you, though."  
Heh, pissing off Karkat was fun.

Half an hour later, Karkat sat across the table from me in a little cafe, dressed in my Daft Punk t-shirt, slightly ripped black skinnies, and a checkered hoodie. Also, upon finding out that he had his ears pierced, I found him some small black studs. After a little inspection, I thought he looked pretty damn fine.  
Not that he agreed, but still.

"I still can't believe you did this. I feel so fucking violated." Karkat wrinkled his nose, rolling up the sleeves of the slightly-too-big hoodie. He picked up his coffee, sipped at it, then placed it back on the table. I just watched him, quirking one eyebrow upwards.

"You look nice, stop whining." I rolled my eyes, and glanced over at the counter. How long were the pancakes going to take?

"If this is what you think 'looking nice' is, I really would hate to know what your opinion of 'ugly' would be."

"Hate is a strong word, Vantas." I deadpanned him, moving my shades down a little so I could stare at him judgingly over the top of them. He kicked my leg under the table in response.

"Yeah, I know, that's why I just used it, asshole. Augh." He grumbled, crossing his arms and sinking further into the seat.

"Aw, aren't you cute- hey, isn't that Serket and Maryam?"  
Karkat blinked, and followed my line of sight towards the next table.  
Sure enough, Vriska and Kanaya were sitting opposite to eachother, engaged in what looked like quite a heated conversation. What could they be talking about?

As if reading my mind, Vriska suddenly snapped her head around to look at us.

"Oh, hello there you two- Karkat, what are you wearing?" Her blue-lipsticked grin spread all the way across her face when she saw how I had dressed Karkat.

"Fuck you." He grumbled some more.

"Did you do it?" Serket asked me, a little twinkle in her eye. I couldn't tell if she approved of it, or she was taking the piss.

"Yeah, we had a little deal, let's say." I replied, giving a small laugh. Vriska nodded slowly, looking him over.

"Well, it beats worn-out jeans and grungy old black t-shirts anyday." She laughed loudly, her long fringe falling into her eyes. She brushed it aside, clearing her throat and smirking at me. "Anyways, me and Maryam were just having a little chat, as she called it, and you two look occupied, so I'll leave you to it."

I nodded in reply, turning back towards Karkat. I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what you are witnessing here is the legendary Smile of Karkat. Take your photos quick, I doubt you'll see another one in a long time."

"Fuck you, Strider." He tried to act annoyed as he kicked my leg some more, but I could still see the corners of his lips twitching happily.

* * *

_Note: Okay that chapter sucked. I'm really sorry eugh. Here, have another one because that one was so bad. It's not from Dave's POV this time._


	8. Chapter 8

_Note: just a little 'Rose's monologue' chapter kind of thing idek asdfgh_

* * *

I worried about him. I worried about him a lot. But I didn't really know what to do. Yes, I was abusing Dave's trust in me, but what could I do? I needed to know he was okay, and Dirk needed to know that too. He knew he had messed up, and that Dave now couldn't even think of his name without feeling angry. Or sad. Or guilty. Or anything else.  
To sum things up, Dave hated his brother. It had taken time for him to gain his trust in me, and if he found out what I was doing, I'm sure that trust would vanish almost immediately.  
I really didn't know what to do. I cared for him so much, yet I also had my own life to live. And I had Kanaya now. She helped me, at least. It was nice to have someone by my side. Especially someone like her.

When I first arrived at Dave's new home, I was so worried for him. He isn't exactly the kind of person who makes lots of friends - actually, for that matter, he never used to have any friends - so I just imagined him sitting at home, getting dragged down by his thoughts.  
However, when I saw him, which was the first time in at least half a year, I was so surprised.  
He looked so healthy, and vibrant. He looked so much like the brother I remembered from our childhood, before Mum and Dad died and we had to cope on our own, not that any of us found it very hard. We could take whatever was thrown at us. That was how we had been raised.  
And after that, I met Karkat. Straight away, I knew he was the reason Dave was so happy. I could just tell. It was so obvious that Dave had a thing for this angry teenager, and the angry teenager had a thing for Dave too. It was amusing to watch them tease eachother, trying to get as close as possible, yet also distancing themselves. I remembered that feeling.

One of the nights I was staying at Dave's, I sneaked outside to call Dirk. He was the one who had wanted me to visit Dave, I was originally just going to leave Dave to it, but my eldest brother can be extremely persuasive sometimes. So I did it, and I was glad that I did.

"Rose?" His rough, growly voice came down the line. Although I knew very hard he was trying to conceal his emotion, as always, but I could tell he was concerned.

"Yes. Hello Dirk." I replied, sitting down on a cold bench outside the block of flats.

"How's it goin' then?" He drawled in his strong Texan accent. I smiled fondly, oh how I missed him. It had been a while.

"Very well, actually. It's nice to see Dave, and to be honest, he is faring extremely well from moving away." I was going to be brutally honest. I wasn't taking sides, not at all, but Dirk needed to know that it was better they weren't living together anymore. I knew he missed him though, and that was the reason I could here Dirk's voice crack slightly when he next spoke.

"Well, that's good. I'm glad he's alright." My older brother paused, and I shifted slightly to get more comfortable. "And is he fitting in? Got a job an' all that?" I could here the fatherly concern in his voice. Of course, he wasn't Dave's father, but, being the eldest sibling, he had taken care of both of us over the years. And then it had started to get complicated between the two of them, and, well. I don't really know what happened after that. We started to split away from each other. It was best like that.

"Actually, he has made a whole load of friends. Very nice they are, too." I smiled down the phone, and I heard him grunt.

"That's good."

"Yes, it is." I paused, wondering whether to add in the detail about Karkat. "He made a particularly special friend, too."

"Special. Special how, Lalonde?" I laughed. He still called me by my last name. It was strange, but we didn't all share the same name. I got my mother's name, and Dirk and Dave got my father's.

"I think you already know what I mean." I said slyly, bouncing the question back at him.

"Oh. So he has a boyfriend?"

"You could say that, although I don't think that word actually applies to them yet. It may do soon though."

"I'm glad." He grunted, sounding relieved, and something else that I couldn't exactly make out. "Is he a nice boy?"

"Apart from being somewhat grumpy, he is a bundle of joy." I smirked, and he laughed shortly.

"Sounds like an alright kid."

"Yes." I replied, as the conversation neared its end.

"Thanks for calling, Rose. I appreciate it."

"Not a problem, brother."

"I'm off now. See you."

"Goodbye, Dirk." I paused, "and don't worry about him. He's strong."

He smiled. I could hear it in his voice. "Yes, I know." And he was gone.

I moved my phone away from my ear and slipped it into the pocket of my cardigan. I had a lot to think about as I made my why back up to Dave's apartment. When I passed his room to get to the guest room that me and Kanaya shared, I could hear lowered voices. And, being the curious lady I was, I stopped to listen in.

"You're such an asshole, Strider." It was Karkat's husky voice, sounding slightly annoyed. At this, Dave laughed and I heard Karkat squeak.

After a little pause, which I guessed meant they had been kissing, Dave spoke up. "You love it."

"Fuck you."

"I might. Sure your virgin ass could take it?" I smirked and straightened up. I think I had heard enough.  
Before I could go into my own room, however, I heard Karkat mumble something barely audible to my ears.

"I can take anything." I smiled to myself. Wow, the two of them were very cute.

"Lalonde, in a nosey mood I see. It is rude to eavesdrop, you know that right?" Kanaya snickered, beckoning me into the room.

I just smiled.  
Dave was happy, I was glad.

* * *

_Note: whoops short_  
_I'll post another soon sorry ;;_


	9. Chapter 9

"Get off me you lump, I'm busy." Karkat swatted my hands that lingered on his hips away. I frowned, and pouted in his direction.

"But I like your hips. They're nice hips." I paused, smirking over at him. "Like childbearing hips."

"I'm fucking working, you shit head! I have customers to serve, get the fuck out of my way dickwad." Karkat growled, swerving around tables and collecting dirty coffee cups. "And childbearing hips, are you serious? I hate you so much." He hissed, coming closer to me. I chuckled, leaning down and pressing a quick kiss on his lips.

"You know you love it."

I'd jumped out on him on his way to work that morning, scaring the shit out of him. It had been amusing, seeing him jump and his amber eyes widen. After that, I had followed him to work, much to Karkat's annoyance. He didn't seem to annoyed about the extra kisses I have him though. Always one to look over the little details, was Karkat.  
So now, here I was, at Cherry. I seemed to be coming here often these day. Maybe it was because of my blossoming (gay word, which suited the context pretty well) relationship with Karkat, or maybe it was the fact that they did fucking good coffee. That was, if Karkat didn't spit in it. I just had to hope he didn't, even when I pissed him off. We had such a strange relationship, but I loved it. I didn't even know what it was classed as. Some kind of almost-boyfriends-but-not-really-because-they-hate-eachother-and-it's-not-official-yet-anyway-because-they're-both-too-chicken-to-ask thing.

"I'd tell you to go fuck yourself but you probably would, egotistical douchebag."

"That's called masturbation, Karkat." I replied mockingly, flashing him my most patronising smile. Karkat growled again, louder this time. Heh, it as so easy to get him riled up.

"Look, fuck off and piss off some old ladies with Captor and Serket for half an hour, alright? I can't get fired from this job from "flirting" with the customers." Karkat hissed at me, more than a little bit irked.

"You call that flirting?" I inked at him, but headed towards the exit of the café anyway.

"Wow, fuck you."

"As I've said before, maybe someday. I don't think your virgin ass is ready." I grinned, pushing down my shades to wink at him.

"That's rich from the one who keeps putting it off. And anyway, as if I'd bottom." Karkat huffed, and I flinched inwardly. For me, that struck a nerve, because yes, I had been putting it off. In all truthfulness, I wasn't at all ready to have sex with Karkat. As much as I adored him (and his body), I knew the stuff with Dirk had fucked me up. I didn't want to bail at the last minute like a coward, so I kept putting it off. Soon though, I knew he would ask, and I shit would probably hit the fan.  
I was running away from it all. I had already run away once, and it was already catching up. Rose had already visited me, and I could feel my mask slowly starting to break. The closer me and Karkat became, the more I knew the truth would come out soon. And, because there was no denying it, he would leave me, because who wants to have a boyfriend who used to be into incest? Not Karkat, I was sure of it. He would leave me. Then I'd be alone again.  
A part of my mind told me that he might like me enough to stay with me, but my common sense told me otherwise.

I looked up at Karkat, trying to push all this dismal thoughts away.

"Right, I'll catch you later." I nodded quickly, fighting hard to keep my poker face. Old habits die hard, and I was still shit at displaying my emotions. It was going to stay that way, at least for a while.

I sloped down the road, not looking back to check if Karkat had followed me, or even said anything in reply. I just needed to clear my mind.

"Strider!" No, not her, anyone but her. I was not in the mood.

"Sup, Harley." It was Jade, one of Feferi's close friends. Apparently she knew my sister, too, but that didn't give her any privileges.  
She was alright, I supposed. Her personality was pretty much perfect. She was kind, easy going, playful, happy, and most of all she always defended her friends. The only thing that got on my nerves was her constantly hitting on Karkat. I didn't like that one bit.  
That aside, she was a lovely girl.

"Not much! What about you? You look a little glum, is everything okay?" She smiled happily at me, the wind catching her long black hair and making it fly out to the side. I smirked slightly. I couldn't deny it, she was very pretty (almost too pretty). She had sparkling green eyes, which were framed (if you pardon the pun) by rather thick, round glasses. She also had quite a cute little overbite. Dressed in green, white and blue, she looked the picture of innocence. It was quite amusing.

"Yeah, s'all fine all up here in this Strider." I replied, wondering if I would be able to think of an excuse to get away from her. I glanced at my watch, Karkat would be finished in fifteen minutes anyway. I felt like a horrible person, but a) she was too happy for me right now, and b) I was always a horrible person so that didn't really change anything. Any other day I would have been fine with it (lies).

"Alrighty then!" She beamed, and I saw her glance behind me at the coffee house. "I've been meaning to ask, how has Karkat been?" I groaned inwardly. I really wasn't in the mood.

Luckily, I was saved by John, one of Karkat's closest friends. He was a pretty cool dude, and Jade's brother. They were pretty much female and male versions of each other, and having them standing next to the other was funny to see.

"Jade! You're going to miss our dinner with Mum and Dad!" John screeched, his glasses almost falling off as he ran up to us. I smirked, holding his arm to steady him. He nodded thankfully, blinking.

"Oh, hi Dave! I'd stay and talk but I really need to steal Jade and get to the restaurant down the street." He grinned apologetically, and I had a strange urge to pinch his cheeks. Obviously I didn't, because that wouldn't be cool. Not even ironically uncool. Just not cool.

"Don't sweat it, dude. I'll probably see you at one of Serket or Captors parties anyway."

"Yeah!" He beamed back at me, before grabbing jade by the sleeve of her green and white hoodie and starting to pull her away.

"It was nice talking to you! I'll see you around!" Jade shouted over at me, looking slightly flustered as her brother dragged her off towards the restaurant. I rolled my eyes and sat down on a bench, waiting for Karkat to finish his work.

We were back in my apartment, which seemed strangely quiet ever since Rose and Kanaya had left, a few days prior, when Karkat finally said the words I had been dreading for days.

"When can we fuck?" He said it so bluntly, so to-the-point, and with such a serious expression on his face that I almost laughed.

"Sometime, I dunno." It was a shit answer, but I didn't know what to say. In reaction to this, Karkat whined and crossed his arms.

"You fucking suck." I reached over, moving one of my hands to the back of his neck to touch his soft hair. "No, get your fucking paws off me, you asshole." The messy-haired teen frowned, wrinkling his nose, but not making any attempt to shrug me off.

I let out a deep breath, one that I hadn't even known I had been holding. "I'm sorry, babe. I just have some stuff to think about."

"If you're having second thoughts about being into guys, or kissing me or whatever, save it. I don't give a fuck." He grumbled, pushing himself further down into the sofa than I had previously thought possible.

"Yeah right, as if I believe that bullshit." I laughed shortly, "and no, I'm not regretting anything, stupid. It's not about that."

"Then what is it about? You can't just keep dropping hints and then not tell me!"

"It doesn't matter." I said, more tensely than I had wanted to. Karkat just stared at me, and then huffed loudly.

"Whatever. Doucheface."

"Worst insult yet, honey." I purred at him, moving closer until our noses were touching.

"Fuck you I fucking hate you you fucking asshole oh my god no get off me I-" I kissed him roughly, half to shut him up. It worked like a charm.

"You're hot when you're angry." I smirked, and he just rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"You're always hot so I have to try and compete, don't I?" Karkat mumbled. I could feel his warm breathe against my lips.

"I know I am." I winked, discarding my glasses on the table so I could get closer to the boy in front of me.

"Asshole."

"You love it." I smirked, leaning in to kiss him again, softer this time. He kissed me back, gliding his hands up and down my back. I could feel him smile slightly into the kiss, and I cherished that feeling. Another of those rare Karkat Vantas smiles.

"As I said, asshole." He grumbled, pulling away to flick my nose.

"Ouch." I smiled genuinely. I really, really liked Karkat Vantas. And he liked me too. And that, along with many other things, made me so happy.  
All thoughts of Dirk and my past forgotten, I pushed Karkat onto his back and deepened the kiss.

* * *

_Note: Okay so I'm getting back into writing this, hooray! Sorry for the little break, I'm back now. uwu_


	10. Chapter 10

I was friends with pretty much all the people his age in town, but there was one kid I absolutely detested. His name was Gamzee Makara, and he wasn't actually a kid at all. He was a six foot giant who was Karkat's best friend. That was why I hated him.  
A couple of times, Karkat had blown me off because he had to spend time with Gamzee. It wasn't that I was going to keep him from his friends, but when I finally met Gamzee, I just hated him. There wasn't even that much of a reason for it, I just hated him. Half of my mind was saying "hate is a strong word Dave" and the other half was saying "he makes me sick", so although I felt like a dick hating this guy, I couldn't help it.  
He was very pleasant, and always chilled out (which might have been because he was constantly high, but still) and there wasn't that much to dislike, but I just hated his guts so much.  
So, when he came up to me in town one day (when I was contemplating whether to buy condoms or not, no less), I found it hard to be nice to him.

"Hey friend, what's goin' down in your life at the moment?" I gritted my teeth at his smooth-as-honey voice, willing myself not to be too nasty. He was Karkat's best mate, after all.

"Makara," I nodded, flicking through the CDs in the shelves in front of me. It seemed that the stoner liked music as I did. "I'm great, fucking your best friend and stuff. You?" Oops, that had slipped out, hadn't it?  
I might have imagined it, but Gamzee's eye seemed to twitch a little.

"I'm great, life is motherfucking brilliant." He beamed at me, and I discreetly looked him up and down.  
He was so fucking tall, it was pretty intimidating. The winding tattoos on his arms just made him even more threatening. On top of his mass of unruly dark brown hair, he wore a deep purple beanie. I moved my eyes up towards his face, looking at it. His eyes were heavily lidded, but I could see that they were hazel. And of course, I couldn't overlook his skakebites, two black studs below his bottom lip. As for his clothes, he wore baggy jeans and a shirt which was rolled up at the elbow, revealing his muscled arms. Everything about his appearance was scary, I wasn't going to lie.

"Great for you, man." I turned back to the CDs, flicking through some of the older bands, but not finding anything that took my interest.

"I heard you're keeping stuff from Karkat." I froze, my back went rigid and my heart stopped. Ah, I had forgotten about that. Everyone had told me that Gamzee knew everything. Nobody knew how, but he just did.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I hissed through my teeth, keeping my eyes on the shelves in front of me.

"I haven't got a problem, friend, but Karkat is my best bro, and if someone is keeping something from him, especially if it's someone he really likes, I'm gonna be concerned." He said back smoothly, not missing a beat. I turned my head to the side, looking at his face. He didn't look angry, just friendly and chilled out as usual. Just that made me angry.

"What makes you think I'm keeping shit from him anyway?" I shot back, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. I ran a hand through my white blond hair, trying to calm myself down. Karkat couldn't find out, not yet. I didn't know how he'd react.

"I know you are, and I know you don't want him to know." Gamzee paused for a moment. "But you should tell him."

"What if I say no?" Gamzee was closer to me now, I could amost feel him breathing down my neck.

"If you don't tell him, then I will." He said quietly into my ear, his voice full of menace. I had to suppress a shudder. It seemed that he hated me just as much as I hated him, but he hid it better. "That's a motherfucking promise, Strider." And then he walked confidently out of the shop, leaving me with a heart that was beating twice as many times as it should have been. I was so fucked.

turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]  
TG: rose  
TG: rose i know youre there  
TT: Hello, David.  
TG: my names dave  
TG: but anyway  
TG: i need your help  
TT: The great Dave Strider, coming to me for help? Well, this is a surprise. I had better write this date down in my diary and turn it into a public holiday.  
TG: alright lalonde  
TG: thats quite enough sarcasm  
TG: no but im being serious here  
TG: its your sisterly duty to help me  
TG: or something  
TT: Fine, I shall cease cracking my hilarious sarcastic jokes. Just for you, brother.  
TT: What seems to be the problem?  
TG: eugh i hate coming to you about stuff but  
TG: i have to admit it  
TG: you are helpful with shit  
TT: I know.  
TG: modest as usual  
TG: anyway its about karkat  
TT: I assume your lover is in good health?  
TG: hes not even my lover knock it off lalonde  
TT: Is this aout having sex with him? Because, although I am very knowledgable about female homosexual sex, I'm not particularly familiar with the male version of that.  
TG: ew rose tmi  
TG: i dont want to know about your bedroom antics with maryam thanks  
TG: and god no it isnt about sex  
TG: its about dirk  
TT: Ah.  
TT: I see.  
TT: You haven't told him yet, have you?  
TG: nope  
TT: And why are you worried?  
TG: to make a long story short this guy i hate is threatening to tell karkat about all the shit with dirk if i dont do it myself  
TT: Oh.  
TT: How does he know? Did you tell him?  
TG: thats the thing  
TG: i have no idea how he knows he just does  
TG: and im fucking scared  
TG: there i admitted it  
TG: why dont you write that down in your diary as well  
TT: Now now, Dave. No need to get lairy with me.  
TT: Well, I can't fathom how he would know about all of this, but he does. So we shall have to work from there.  
TG: so what should i do  
TT: I think you should tell Karkat.  
TG: but  
TG: rose what if i lose him  
TG: i cant lose him  
TT: I understand. You are scared. It is natural.  
TG: yeah of course im fucking scared  
TG: i have no idea what karkat will think of it  
TG: should i just come out with it like  
TG: oh karkat i got something to tell you  
TG: i used to fuck my brother loads but that doesnt matter now kiss me  
TT: Calm down, Dave.  
TG: i cant  
TG: i dont know what to do  
TT: Look, neither of us know how the boy is going to react, and we won't know until you tell him. Sometimes it is better to just go ahead and get something out. It is better than holding it inside, which could just worsen the situation.  
TT: So just tell him.  
TT: And prepare yourself, just in case.  
TG: right yeah  
TG: i will  
TT: Good, I'm glad. I hope I was helpful.  
TG: yeah you were  
TG: thanks  
TT: Not a problem.  
TG: im off now  
TG: cya later lalonde  
TG: stay cool

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

I sat on my bed, looking down at the phone in my hands. Even if I was still scared, I was slightly more clear on what I had to do. Yet again, Rose had helped me, even though I hated to admit it.  
As soon as I put my phone down, it started to vibrate. I snatched it up again, seeing Karkat's name flashing. Pressing answer, I put the phone up to my ear.

"Hey _fuckass_, can I come over, or are you busy?" Karkat huffed down the phone, angry as usual. "I have something to ask you."

I grinned to myself, forgetting my worries about talking to Karkat about my brother. I was also intrigued by what Karkat wanted to ask me about.

"Never to busy for you, babe." I replied, slapping on my Texan drawl just to annoy him.

"Fuck you, Strider."

"All in good time."

"Wow you're so fucking annoying, I hate you."

"I know." I chuckled to myself, kicking off my shoes and wandering into the living room.

"Right well, whatever. I'm coming round. Bye." He hung up, and I put my phone down on the counter, waiting on the sofa for the loud, angry teenager to arrive.  
Questions danced not particularly gracefully around in my mind. What was he going to ask me? Should I try and talk to him about Dirk? About my past in general? That brought me back to the big question; would he leave me? I sighed, there was no point dwelling on it. I would have to just tell him, wouldn't I?

Not a moment later, Karkat knocked on the door. I strode towards it, trying to keep my cool and stay as confident as possible.

"Hey stupid." The first thing I noticed about him was that he wasn't wearing an oversized hoodie to hide away in as usual, and th second thing I noticed was that his face was quite a deep shade of red. I raised my eyebrows and looked down at him.

"Stop staring and let me in, Jesus!" He huffed, pushing past me into the main room before slumping down on the sofa.

"What brings you to the Casa De Strider, babe?" I asked, going to sit down next to him. I put my arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer to my chest.

"Just wanted to ask you some stuff," he mumbled, his voice muffled slightly.

"Shoot." I waited for his reply. I couldn't fathom what it could be. Unless, of course, Gamzee had already told Karkat about my brother.  
Shit. Now I was scared.  
No, calm down Dave. Karkat wouldn't be so embarrassed if he had just found out that you used to fuck your brother.

"I- What if we- Oh fuck this, I'm so bad at this holy fucking shit, I am so done with life. Why did I even come here? I'm going to go now, sorry. Fuck-"

"Shut up, Karkat." I smirked at his embarrassment, and leaned down to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Now tell me." I said firmly, staring at him from behind my glasses.

"Okay." He paused, avoiding my eyes. "What if we became official boyfriends?"

I really had not expected that. Sure, it had been on the side of my mind for weeks, but with all the fuss about Dirk, I had completely forgotten about a detail that seemed a little trivial in comparison. Okay, that sounded harsh, but at the moment all I was worried about was whether Karkat would hate me or not.

The long pause seemed to scare the boy in my arms, because he made a noise of part annoyance, part confusion, and part distress. I gave him a little squeeze, and reached up to take my glasses off, just so I could look at him properly.  
At this point, I didn't really care if he saw my eyes. He knew me well enough by now, so I would give him the privilege of seeing the scary red albino eyes that belonged to me.

"Yeah. Of course." I replied softly, blinking against light in the room, that seemed so bright in comparison to when I had my shades on. "I'll be your boyfriend."

He looked up at me, smiling. Even when he saw my eyes, his smile didn't falter, he just stared at me. "Your eyes are fucking beautiful."

"That's gay." I smirked.

"Like you, dicksplash." Karkat grinned at me, a mischievous look in his eye. This was my chance to tell him everything.

"I need to tell you something as well."

"What?" He paused, still getting over the fact he had a boyfriend. "Oh yeah, what is it?"

"I'm not sure how you're going to react, but just remember god I don't know."

"Spit it out, you idiot." He replied, looking slightly annoyed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes.

"I used to fuck my brother who was ten years older than me." There, it was out. Not being able to face Karkat, I kept my eyes closed and turned away.

When I heard his - rather loud - laugh though, I opened my eyes in disbelief to see my boyfriend smirking to himself.

"Nice one, Dave. Fucking hilarious." His face dropped though when he saw my expression.

"Oh shit. You weren't joking." It wasn't even a question. He looked like he was going to be sick or something just as disgusting. My heart dropped and I just sat there.

"No, I wasn't joking." I replied, trying to stop my voice from breaking.

"I- I don't know what to say." He got to his feet, looking a little wobbly.

"No, Karkat, please don't leave. We can talk about this!" I jumped off the sofa, grabbing his arm to stop him from walking out. I wouldn't let myself get hysterical.

"Get off." He shrugged my hand off, and moved towards the door. "Look, I don't hate you. I just... need some time to let this sink in, okay?" He spoke softly, he was shocked. He wouldn't even look at me.

"Please don't leave me." I was actually begging him. I had never done that before.

"I'm not fucking leaving you! I just need to go, okay?" Karkat raised his voice at me, his amber eyes were blazing with confusion, anger and angst. I didn't know what to do.

So I just let him walk away.  
Out of the door. Out of my house. Away from me. I felt like doing something I hadn't done in years. I felt like crying.

It was over, and I was fucked.

* * *

_Note: I'm so sorry._


	11. Chapter 11

_Note: Sorry about the delay, but enjoy Chapter 11!_

* * *

I made my way upstairs, back home towards my own apartment. I didn't know what to think, not anymore. As much as I hated leaving Dave, especially knowing the state he would surely be in.  
He had seemed so nervous whilst trying to tell me about that, and now I could see why. I really did not know what to think. I still liked him - of course - and he was still my boyfriend, but I needed to get away. Partly just to sit alone in my room and rage about nothing. I hadn't done that in a very long while.

As soon as I got into the door, I made straight for my bedroom, chucking my jacket to the side and flopping down on the grey bed sheets. What did I do now? I wanted to go back and comfort him, tell him it was all fine, and that I wouldn't leave him, but it would be too awkward. He had just confessed to sleeping with his brother, for fucks sake.  
I usually saw myself as a very open minded person, but the thought of my boyfriend fucking his brother made me reel back a little in shock. It was just so unexpected.

I grabbed my phone off the side table, swiftly dialing Sollux's number and pressing call.

"Hey you retard, come over to my apartment and bring alcohol and chocolate."

"Oh my god KK, what the fuck?" The lispy voice replied, more than a little bit dumbfounded.

"Just do it, shit head."

"Alright, alright. I'll be there in a bit," Sollux huffed, slightly annoyed.

"Good."

"Alright bye you douchebag-"

"No wait," I butted in, biting my lip. "Thanks."

My best friend just laughed, and I could hear the smirk in his voice when he spoke. "You're welcome." Then he hung up and I flopped back against my bed.

"So what happened?" Sollux asked, slamming cupboards open and closed to try and locate glasses and bowls for the snacks and beer he had brought.

"Something happened between me and Dave, not that you'll fucking care," I muttered back from where I sat, wrapped up in my oversized hoodie on the sofa, my arms crossed over my chest.

Sollux glanced over his shoulder at me, shooting me some kind of sympathetic look from behind his weird red and blue 3D glasses that he always wore. "Ah," he frowned. "Shit."

"Yeah, pretty much." I muttered under my breath, narrowing my eyes and preparing myself for a snide remark.

Instead of a sarcastic comment, Sollux came over and sat next to me on the couch. I frowned. "Want to talk about it, KK?" He asked, and I merely blinked. What the fuck?

"Okay, so I know you might not want to talk about it with me, but I just want to help, alright?" He paused, looking down at his mismatched black and white shoes. "I know how much you liked him, and I also don't want to be the one who comforts a blubbering KK whilst he gets over his heartbreak." At this, both me and Sollux had to suppress a grin.

"Fuck you."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd rather fuck Dave." He grinned, revealing his crooked teeth.

"I don't even know anymore, Captor. I don't know what to fucking do." I groaned, knotting my fingers into my hair.

"Look, I'm even preparing myself for one of your angry rants, so go the fuck ahead and get it out there," said Sollux.

"You have to fucking promise me you won't tell anyone, or I will personally brutally kill you and then feed your rotting corpse to the neighbors cat who smells. Really bad."

Sollux laughed loudly. "I won't tell anyone, you asshole. I'm your friend."

"Not even Ampora. I don't want that fishy douchebag knowing my business."

"I won't even tell Ampora, god KK, just trust me." He exhaled loudly, throwing me a sideways glance.

"Okay then. Dave told me he used to fuck his brother and then he told me not to leave in a really distraught voice and I walked away," I said. A heavy silence settled between us.

A couple of minutes later - which had been the time it had taken for Sollux to work out whether I was lying or not - he spoke up. "Fuck."

"My exact reaction, trust me." I grumbled, wrapping my arms tighter around myself. At least I had told someone.

"Well fuck KK, I'm lost for words." He looked at me blankly.

"That's a first."

"True." And then the awkward silence was there again.

After another couple of minutes, he got to his feet and poured us both some drinks, before finding some vodka in a cupboard and thinking it suited the occasion more than beer.

"I think we need this." He handed me a glass, and I pretty much downed it, feeling the alcohol burn my insides as I swallowed. It felt good.

"I agree," I said, holding my glass out for more. He laughed, and the subject of Dave wasn't touched on again all evening.

"Do you have his number?"

"The number of whom, might I ask? I am not psychic, Dave, you know that."

I was totally and utterly distraught. All the self control I had built up over the last few months had crumbled to pieces when Karkat walked out of the door. I knew it was over, and I just couldn't deal with it. So I went to the only person I knew would understand me.

"You know who, Lalonde. Just give it to me."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Rose replied on the other side of the line, her voice filled with concern. We both knew who we were talking about, but neither of us would say his name. She was just trying to protect me, but it was making me angry.

"Give me his fucking number, Rose." My voice was icy cool, and I glared at the wall next to my bed, half expecting it to burst into flames from the intensity of my stare.

"If you wish, brother, I shall. But I did warn you, okay. I don't want you to get hurt again." I could tell she was resisting, trying hard not to give me his number, but I would get it. I didn't care anymore, I needed to see him.

"I don't give a shit, I can look after myself now. I just want his number, that's all. You don't even need to get involved, just leave me to it, Lalonde."

"I have sent you his mobile number via Pesterchum," her speech faltered, and she paused just for a moment, something on her mind. "Be careful."

"Thanks," and then I hung up on her, immediately dialing my brother's number and punching 'call' with my thumb.

It rang once. Twice. And I realised this would be the first time I had spoken to him in over five months. I had the urge to hang up, but I let the phone ring.  
Three times, and he finally picked up.

"Hello? Who's there?" His low and heavily accented voice came over the line, and I froze. Fuck.

"H-Hey, it's Dave." I said back, hating how scared and quiet my voice sounded.

"Dave? Is that you?" Even Dirk, the master of the pokerface, couldn't hide the shock in his voice when he spoke.

"Yeah, it is, and I've got a favour to ask."

"Anything," he instantly replied, and I was shocked by the sincerity of his words.

"I need you to come over." I knew he wouldn't ask why, or what for, and that was what I liked. We were Striders, we understood each other, and I just prayed he would say yes.

"Of course. Whats your address?" I gave it to him, and as soon as I had finished speaking, I heard him unlock the door and get into his truck.

"Right, I'm on my way. I'll be there soon, lil' bro." I smiled, despite the situation. Damn, I really had missed him. More than I had initially thought.

"Thanks Dirk."

"Don't mention it."

It was about a day and a half since I had walked out of Dave's apartment - although it could have been more for all I knew.  
In that time, I had hung around with Sollux, gotten over a killer of a hangover and not checked my Pesterchum in days.

It was early afternoon, and I hadn't been outside for days. I lounged around in my living room with Sollux, eating leftover Chinese takeaway from the night before and trying to keep all thoughts of Dave out of my mind.

Now though, Sollux looked over at me and let out a sigh.

"Come on KK, I know you're trying to put it off for as long as possible, but we have to talk about Dave. At least think about him," he paused, searching for the right words as I let out a small groan and hid my face in my hands. "He's my friend too, asshole, I don't want him to be upset just because you're being a lazy shit and not bothering to even check your Pesterchum to see if he has contacted you." Sollux said. It was harsh but true, and I needed it.

"Augh," I groaned again, pushing myself into a sitting position. "I fucking suppose so."

I stretched my arms out, getting to my feet and turning on my laptop, frowning all the while. I was not looking forward to this.  
I still didn't know my thoughts about him sleeping with his brother, but I knew for sure that I still liked him.

Suddenly, I was very scared I had fucked things up. What if Dave had thought that me walking away meant I was leaving him?

"Fuck," I bashed my head against the keyboard as Sollux watched, a little confused. "I'm such a fucking stupid retard who only thinks for myself. Why didn't I think about him? Sollux, what if I've ruined it?" My voice was slowly raising. No, I wouldn't let myself get hysterical, because that would just lead to more anger. Oh what the fuck, I wasn't up for this.

"Woah there KK, calm yourself," he said, patting my back awkwardly. "Just check your Pesterchum then we'll work from there."

"Whatever," I muttered back, clicking on the little yellow icon - which was annoyingly happy - to bring the program up.

It wasn't a shock to see I had more than ten messages from turntechGodhead, also known as Dave. I was so close to bailing and just shutting myself in my bedroom and never coming out, but Sollux got there first and clicked on the chatlog window.

turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 19:45  
TG: karkat  
TG: karkat are you there i need to speak to you

turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 22:34  
TG: im going to hope youre not just ignoring me and will log on and see these soon  
TG: please karkat  
TG: im sorry

turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering carcinoGenticist [CG] at 09:54  
TG: im so sorry  
TG: karkat i really like you  
TG: youre my boyfriend  
TG: at least i hope you still are  
TG: please talk to me

turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering carcinoGenticist [CG] at 20:14  
TG: Please don't leave me.

After reading them all, I just sat back and blinked. Out of all of them, the last one stuck in my mind. For a start, he had used punctuation and capital letters. Dave never did that. And also those were the last words Karkat had heard Dave say.  
It was all too much.

"You have to go talk to him. You can't leave him like this, KK, it's not fair." Sollux said sternly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded slowly, I knew my best friend was right.

"Fine, I'll go put on some clothes that dont stick of stale beer and Chinese food." I mumbled, shuffling towards my bedroom to get changed.

I stood outside the door to Dave's apartment, my hands staying stubbornly by my sides. Sollux had long since left me. Gone home to Ampora probably, I thought, a little annoyed. He could have at least stayed and helped me out.  
Even though I knew I had to face Dave by myself. What would I say? How would he react? What if I said the wrong thing? What if he didn't even like me anymore?  
I pushed all those thoughts aside, because before I even talked to him I would have to get up the courage to knock on the fucking door.

"Come on Karkat, you can do it," I muttered under my breath, lifting a hand to knock against the door, but when my fist touched it, the door swung open. It had been left unlocked.

That was the time I should have knocked, or called out or something, but I was way too nervous, so instead I ventured in to the apartment.

When I got to the main room, I saw Dave sitting on the couch with his back to me and I gulped, wishing away my nerves.

"Dave," I started, and I saw him twitch only slightly. "I'm so sorry, I'm really fucking sorry. I only just checked my Pesterchum and I saw all your messages and I came down to talk to you but fuck, I've messed it up, haven't I? I shouldn't have walked out on you like that, or been moody or told you to get off. I'm sorry, and I won't leave you- wait what the fuck?" I was cut short of my long and rambling apology, because "Dave" turned around. it wasn't Dave at all. He had the same hair as Dave, if slightly more spiky, and the same pale skin, but he was older. And he was wearing fucking anime glasses.

"Who the fuck are you?" I screeched, my voice rising a couple of octaves. The man who looked like Dave jumped to his feet, his arms out in front of him as he approached me.

"Woah there tiger, I-" he started in a low, Texan drawl, rather like Dave's but a lot stronger, but was cut off by a loud gasp from the doorway to Dave's bedroom.

I didn't even know what was happening, but a flash of red, blonde and white rushed towards me, breathing heavily, and then I was engulfed in his arms and pressed against his chest as I breathed in Dave's familiar scent. I blinked, letting my hands settle on his hips.  
What the fuck had just happened.

"Karkat, Karkat, oh my god, fucking hell, you scared me so much-" Dave pulled back, holding me at arms length and just looking at me. His shades were gone, and his face was plastered with an expression of relief. He was breathing hard as he studied the shock and confusion on my face. He pulled me back against my chest, holding me as tight as he could, and after a moment I wrapped my own arms around his back and let out a shaky sigh.

Dave pulled back just an inch or so, letting our foreheads touch. "I'm so sorry, Karkat, I just-" as if he didn't know what to say, and the ordeal had scared him so much that he never wanted to let me go again, he crashed his lips down against my own, pressing his body against my own. I leaned into him, kissing back passionately. I felt his tongue against my lips, wanting entry to my mouth, but before I opened it, I remembered we weren't the only people in Dave's apartment.

I jerked away from Dave, glaring at the blond guy in glasses wearing an orange shirt and black jeans. Dave's hands were still resting on my waist as he watched me watching this random dude.  
Who the fuck was he, and why was he in my boyfriend's house?

The apologies would have to wait, I wanted some answers - and maybe some privacy so we could make out more.

* * *

_Note: Thanks so much to Rubehroo for the help with this chapter! And thank you all for the lovely reviews, keep them coming! _  
_The next chapter will be the last one (the sex will come don't you worry), just to warn you, but I'm starting a new DaveKat fanfic which you should go and check out. It won't be as long as this, but enjoy it anyway!_

_I hope you enjoyed the teenage angst in this chapter, my friends._


	12. Chapter 12

Karkat had all got it very wrong and I couldn't get a word in edgeways to correct him. I just stood there, my mouth hanging open as I searched for the right words.  
I raised my hands in front of me, shaking my head slowly. I just hoped he wouldn't get the wrong idea about why Dirk was in my house. What if he thought there was a tall handsome stranger in my house because we were together, and not because Dirk had been keeping me company whilst I spiralled out of control with my worries for Karkat? I couldn't let that happen.

"It's not what you think Karkat-" I started, but he cut me off.

"If it isn't, then explain who the fuck he is and why he is lounging around here in my boyfriends house like he owns the place?" Karkat sent a look over at my brother, and I looked over just in time to see a faint flicker of mirth pass over Dirk's features.

"What's so funny?" Karkat snapped at him, taking an unconscious step towards the couch, his arms crossed over his chest defensively. He was acting like a jealous boyfriend, which was pretty much what he was right now.  
I exhaled, and Karkat looked over at me and then back at Dirk. A small spark of recognition passed over his face, but I could have imagined it since it vanished as soon as it had appeared. I bit my lip, still trying to find the right was to word it.

I placed a hand on my boyfriend's should and gestured vaguely towards Dirk on the sofa, who had still not uttered a word or moved an inch.

"Karkat, I don't know what you're thinking but this is Dirk, and he's my brother," I accidentally faltered just before I said the word 'brother' and mentally cursed myself.

And then Karkat got it.

His eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed but no words were formed. His eyes flicked between the two of us, trying to work out if he could trust me or not.  
After a moment or two, he slumped down in a chair, bunching a hand into his messy hair.

"I don't care if this is embarrassing or whatever, but did you two do it again?" He paused, not waiting for my answer before continuing. "Because if you did, I'm going to have to break up with you. I'm sorry but-"

"No I didn't." I replied, as firmly as I could, and Karkat let out the breath he had been holding, obviously relieved.

He stood up and walked towards the couch, holding out a hand to my brother.

"I'm Karkat Vantas, and I'm fucking your brother, pleased to meet you."

"Dirk Strider, great to make your acquaintance." My brother was grinning widely by now, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Thanks for all the help, you've been great." I nodded towards him. Our time together had been brief, and we hadn't talked about the past at all, but I felt as though it had healed a lot of the wounds I had inflicted upon myself. I realised that none of the stuff was his fault, and I only had myself to blame.  
But there was no point in that.

He nodded back at me, a silent sign of agreement between the two of us.

"Catch you later, lil' bro," he replied gruffly, taking his cue to leave, grabbing his meager amount of luggage and making his way out of the door.

As soon as the door closed with a satisfactory 'click', Karkat pushed me roughly down onto the sofa.  
I blinked, taken completely aback.

"I understand if you're angry, but I swear that-"

"Shut up you stupid asshole," he said, straddling my hips and immediately pulling me in to a rough, heated kiss. One that we had both needed for so long.

I hadn't touched him, let alone kissed Karkat for half a week at the least, so feeling the heat of his skin through his hoodie was to die for.

I pushed myself up against him, letting him take complete control of the kiss and ghosting my hands down his back until they settled on his waist.  
I pushed up his jumper and t-shirt, rubbing small circles into his soft warm skin with my thumbs. He sighed happily against my lips, his fingers tangling into my blond hair.

I opened my mouth, letting his slip his tongue inside, and gave a soft grunt when his tongue glided along my bottom lip.  
I had forgotten how much I needed to have Karkat pressed up against me. We both came to this realisation at the same time, and from then onwards our kisses went from soft and gentle to passionate and heated.

Every so often, Karkat would let out a gentle moan, especially when I pushed myself up against him or I let my mouth wander away from his lips and towards his neck.  
Knowing what he liked, I kissed and nipped my way down from his lips to his neck, sucking at the skin when I got there. Marking my territory, showing everyone what was mine and what they couldn't have.  
Every time I nipped or sucked at the skin of his neck, Karkat would make the most amazing noises, which sent heat straight to my groin. I wanted to make Karkat make those noises more, and I wanted to-

"Can we have sex now?" He pulled away, looking down into my eyes with an expression of hazy lust. His hair was even more messy than usual, and his clothes were so ruffled that little patches of his skin showed, mostly around his waist where I had pushed them up.

Yes, that was it. I wanted to fuck him.  
Or for him to fuck me, I wasn't going to be picky, I just wanted to rip his clothes off.

"Do you even need a fucking answer to that," I replied, shocked at how aroused and needy I sounded. He bit his lip, looking down at me with a silent pleading.

"Have you- got stuff?" He asked quietly, uncertainly.

"Im a nineteen year old boy with raging hormones and an incredibly attractive boyfriend, what do you think?" I smirked up at him, my hands still in place on his hips.

"Well what are we waiting for then, let's fuck." And with that, I was dragged to my feet, his lips pressed roughly against my lips again as we stumbled towards the bedroom, bashing into walls and other pieces of furniture as we went.

By the time we got to my bedroom and kicked the door closed behind us, Karkat's shirt was half unbuttoned and my belt was nowhere to be seen. I stopped for a moment, just staring at Karkat in his disheveled state. He looked extremely hot, and extremely fuckable.

I felt my body warming up even more than it already was, and I pushed him down against the bed with a smirk. He looked up at me, some strange emotion dancing in his eyes that I couldn't quite understand.

I pressed my mouth fleetingly against his own before pulling away and moving to straddle his hips.  
I undid the rest of the buttons, flinging Karkat's shirt away somewhere into my room so I could get to his naked skin.  
Before I knew it, he was pulling my top up over my head, and then we were both shirtless.

He was panting, his eyes half lidded as he looked up at me. My mouth latched onto his neck again, and he let out a small needy moan.

I couldn't help myself, I ground down into him, needing the friction.  
Immediately, Karkat gasped, his hands digging into my hips as he felt the pleasure begin to build.

Suddenly my jeans were extremely tight and I fumbled around, desperately trying to rid myself of them. Karkat was doing the same, kicking them off his body until he was just lying underneath me in his boxers.  
I finally got my jeans off, flinging them behind me somewhere as I looked down at Karkat's mostly naked body.

He was so fucking beautiful, especially in this aroused state, lying underneath me and just waiting to be touched and - more importantly - fucked.

"You're-" I started, but I didn't finish because he pulled me down into a heated kiss, his fingers slipping underneath the band of my boxers.

"Don't you fucking dare tease me or you won't be getting any of this baby," I smirked, gesturing towards my dick, which was already rock hard. Oops.  
One look at Karkat's, however, and I didn't feel as embarrassed to be already nursing a hard on.

"But Dave-"

"Shut up," I kissed him, my long slender fingers pulling his boxers off him in one foul swoop, leaving him completely naked.  
I ran my hands down his flesh, feeling all of him. He shivered beneath my touch, his breath catching in his throat as he arched his back slightly, pushing against my body.

I kissed him harder, pressing our bodies flush together. Our dicks were pressed together between us, the only thing separating them was the thin fabric of my boxers, which I immediately pulled off and abandoned.

"Wow, okay, I-" Karkat looked down at my erection, and I felt my face heating up slightly.

"Hot, I know," I murmured against his neck, moving my hands down and experimentally giving his length a quick stroke.

"F-Fuck Dave," Karkat immediately stuttered, arching up into my touch and breathing heavily. Fuck, he was beautiful.

"You like that, do you?"

"Y-Yes," murmured Karkat, his hands gripping my hair as I continued to touch his hardening cock. I was going slowly, teasingly, even after what I had said to him, and I felt like the biggest hypocrite ever. But I didn't give a shit.  
All that mattered was that I was touching my boyfriend and it was amazing.

He reached over to take hold of my own dick, and partially mirrored my own administrations, panting heavily as he slumped against my shoulder.

Having a sudden idea, I shuffled down in between his legs and made my way down his body, leaving red marks all over his chest as I went, until I reached the incline just above his dick, pressing a kiss there before hovering myself over his erection, licking my lips.

I looked up to see him staring down at me, his mouth slightly open and more than a little bit swollen from all the kissing we had been doing. I smirked and took his whole length into my mouth, my breath catching when I heard him gasp and moan above me.

"Dave," he murmured, gripping my hair in his hands.  
I licked the underside of it experimentally, eliciting a sharp groan from Karkat which made me continue.

Just as I could feel him reaching his limit, I pulled back off his dick with a pop, and he looked down at me, horrified.

"Don't you fucking dare, Strider. I swear if you leave me like this I will rip you to shreds and-"

"Calm the fuck down, Karkles, I need to get something." I got to my feet, fumbling around in various drawers for what I was looking for.

Where the fuck were they? I knew I had condoms and lube in here somewhere- ah.  
My hand came into contact with a small bottle of liquid and a condom. I pulled them out, stumbling back over to Karkat and pushing him down, pressing my mouth quickly against him before ripping open the condom and popping the lid off the lube.  
After I had finished coating my fingers and my dick in the stuff, I looked up to see Karkat eyeing me cautiously.

Suddenly, a thought dawned on me.

"You're a virgin, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?" Huffed Karkat, looking down at the bed sheets and not catching my eyes.

My face softened, and I smiled at him, tilting his chin up with my clean hand.

"You're perfect, and I don't care if you're a virgin, I still love you."

He stared at me, eyes wide. It took me no longer than five seconds to realise what I had said.

"Shit no, I didn't mean that, I just-"

"I love you too, Dave." Karkat's face broke into a grin as he touched my cheek and then pulled me into a soft, lazy kiss. "I've waited so long for you to say that."

"So have I," I laughed, smiling against my boyfriend's lips.

"Right, now I hope you haven't forgotten the task at hand, because I'm extremely fucking horny and I'm waiting."

I laughed again at his bluntness, pulling him in to my lap.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Dave, take my fucking ass-virginity already."

I didn't have to be told twice.

Now he was on my lap, it was the perfect angle for me to prepare him. Quickly, I pushed one of my fingers into his entrance, up until the knuckle, and held Karkat's hip with my other hand, murmuring words of encouragement when he bit his lip in discomfort.  
Once I had three fingers inside him, I felt as though he was ready, and pulled out. He whined quietly, although I wasn't sure if that was because I exited him, or because of the discomfort.

"Okay," I muttered, lining my dick up with Karkat's entrance before pushing slickly inside his hole.  
Fuck, he was so tight. So fucking delicious and tight.

"A-Ah Dave," Karkat squirmed beneath me, obviously in pain. I waited for him to tell me when to go, not wanting to hurt him at all.

After a moment or so, Karkat spoke up in a rather annoyed voice. "Go on, fuck me, Strider." Again, I didn't wait to be told twice, and moved out of him before slamming back inside him, hitting that exact place that made Karkat cry out.

"Oh my God." He moaned, followed by a trail of obscenities which I couldn't make out.

It felt so amazing to be inside of him, hitting his prostate over and over and watching him cry out each time.  
He flopped against my shoulder, breathing heavily as I jerked my hips, creating a rhythm that suited the both of us.

When I could feel my orgasm approaching, I moved my hands to Karkat's aching erection and began to stroke it quickly, making him shiver violently and gasp into my ear.

"Dave I'm- I'm going to-"

"Come for me, Karkat." I murmured back, my voice deep with lust.

With a cry, he dug his nails into my sides and came all over my hands, panting heavily.

After a few more jerks of my hips, I shortly followed suit, the orgasm wracking violently through my body as I came inside of Karkat.

I slumped down on him, pulling out and just lying there for a moment.

"Fucking hell, that was amazing." came his voice through the darkness, five minutes later. I grinned, kissing the corner of his mouth and moving underneath the covers, pulling him under with me.

He curled into me, playing absent-mindedly with my hair.  
The room was dark, and with Karkat's warm body pressed up against mine, I quickly drifted off.

I woke up to the smell of something I certainly hadn't expected to smell after a night of sex.  
It was pancakes. Not an unwelcome smell, but who the fuck would be cooking them?

I glanced at the bed. Karkat wasn't here.

A couple of minutes later, his head appeared around the side of the door. He grinned when he saw I was awake and strode in with a plate of pancakes and some coffee.

"Hey hot stuff," I greeted him with a wink, that morning-after-sex glow still apparent on his face.

I pushed myself up in bed, realising he was only wearing some boxers and an oversized t-shirt of mine. I smirked, it looked good on him.

He passed me the pancakes and put the coffee down on the table, before crawling back into the bed next to me and snuggling close to me, his face buried in my neck. I smiled and leaned into him.

"Thanks, Dave."

"What for, deflowering your innocent virgin body?" I replied with a completely straight face, and he punched me lightly.

"No just for everything," he said, adding after an afterthought, "and the sex."

"My pleasure, I hope we can do it another time soon, Mister Vantas."

"Most certainly, Strider." He chuckled, flashing me one of those beautiful smiles.

For what felt like the first time in my life, everything was uncomplicated, perfect and I was happy.

Most importantly, I had Karkat.

* * *

_Note: brb going to cry because damn am i going to miss these guys_

_That aside, I hope you enjoyed my fic! Thanks for all the positive feedback, and I know I really enjoyed writing it, I just hope you all enjoyed reading it!_

_You can contact me on my Tumblr, which is _

_Thank you!_


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